bookbashuk Page 74
Page 74
Yi Chen immediately realized what was happening and laughed even harder.
"That's great! Looks like that guy's been working pretty hard!"
Barbara raised her head and looked at Yichen again.
“Really… thank you so much, Mr. Yichen. You have no idea what this means to me… you have really helped me a lot.”
As she spoke, her body unconsciously moved slightly closer to Yichen.
A faint fragrance emanated from the girl, wafting over almost imperceptibly.
Yi Chen looked at the gratitude that was almost overflowing in her eyes, smiled and shook his head, his face showing a rare gentleness and seriousness.
"I already told you there's no need to be so polite. Whatever the method, as long as it can truly help you and make you feel more relaxed and comfortable singing and living, that would be great. This is something I'm doing voluntarily."
Just then, a particularly favored ray of the morning sun shone through the stained-glass window high above, landing precisely on Yichen's profile like a beam of light.
The soft golden light outlined his handsome features and illuminated his smiling eyes, which seemed to hold the warmest sunshine and the purest kindness.
At that moment, he seemed to be glowing faintly, so dazzling that it was impossible to look away.
The words Barbara was about to say suddenly caught in her throat.
She stared blankly at Yichen, who was so close to her, bathed in the gentle sunlight, at his radiant smile devoid of any gloom, and at his words, "As long as it can help you..."
My heart started beating violently and uncontrollably without warning.
Thump, thump, thump—
Barbara's cheeks flushed rapidly, and the sound of her blood rushing through her ears pounded in her ears.
Her pupils dilated slightly, and it seemed as if the world consisted only of the person in front of her and his smile.
Time seemed to stretch out infinitely at this moment.
She just stared blankly, forgetting to speak, forgetting to react, and even forgetting to blink.
Yi Chen blinked in confusion and leaned a little closer.
"Huh? Barbara? What's wrong? Is there something on my face?"
"Ah! No, no!"
Barbara snapped back to reality, sprang up instantly, and stood up from the piano bench. Her cheeks were as red as ripe sunset fruits, and even her small earlobes were tinged with crimson.
She took two steps back, flustered and helpless, her heart still pounding wildly in her chest.
"I...I suddenly remembered I have a prayer to perform! Uh...I'm so sorry! Mr. Yichen! I must excuse myself!"
After saying that, she didn't even dare to look at Yichen again. Lifting her skirt, she rushed out of the practice room almost as if fleeing in panic, leaving behind only a faint fragrance and a flustered figure.
Yi Chen stood there blankly, staring at the doorway where Barbara had suddenly disappeared, and touched his face in bewilderment.
"Uh... I don't think I look that scary, do I?"
Chapter 25 Green Fruit
Barbara practically sprinted out of the practice room, her slender fingers unconsciously gripping the lapel of her priest's robe, as if that would calm her restless heart that was about to leap out of her throat.
She didn't have a specific destination; she just instinctively wanted to escape the space that was throwing her into disarray, to escape the figure bathed in sunlight, whose dazzling smile made it impossible for her to think.
In the church's tall, empty cloisters, only the soft echoes of her somewhat disordered footsteps and rapid breathing remained.
The light and shadow cast by the stained glass flickered before her eyes, but could not penetrate her chaotic mind.
The scene from just now kept replaying uncontrollably in her mind's eye—
The way he tilted his chin slightly to accept the compliment, looking both smug and adorable…
He sat on the piano bench, his jawline flowing smoothly as he smiled, head tilted to the side…
When he was focused on playing the piano, a gentle light always shone in his eyes, which were always filled with sunlight…
And finally… that perfectly timed ray of sunlight so tenderly outlined his features, making him look like a radiant hero straight out of a legend…
"Mr. Yichen..."
The name rolled silently between her lips, carrying a strange, burning thrill.
Why does the heart beat so fast?
Why are my cheeks so hot?
Why does it feel like the air itself becomes sweet just by looking at him smile?
Why do I get so nervous when he gets close that I forget to breathe?
These unfamiliar emotions surged up like a tide, leaving her bewildered, yet... unable to suppress a secret joy.
Barbara stopped and leaned against a cold stone pillar, breathing heavily as she tried to calm her chaotic thoughts.
But as soon as I close my eyes, that face with a hearty smile reappears clearly.
She remembered the first time he clumsily used the wind to shoo away the insects and help her out of a predicament…
I remember his serious yet slightly mischievous demeanor when he impersonated the Wind God…
I recall that perfectly placed beam of sunset, like a spotlight on a stage, gently outlining the perfect profile of his face…
He always seemed to be like that, like a free and warm breeze, suddenly entering her world, using his somewhat eccentric yet incredibly sincere way to shield her from troubles, bring sunshine and... an indescribable feeling of excitement.
"By Barbatos, the god of wind..."
Barbara prayed softly without realizing it, but she didn't know what to pray for.
I pray that this panicked feeling will subside soon.
Or should I pray... that I can see him just one more time?
The moment this audacious thought popped into Barbara's head, her cheeks flushed bright red again. She quickly covered her burning face with both hands, feeling as if she were about to burst into flames.
As a prayer pastor, she knew she shouldn't have such...unfocused thoughts.
That desire to get closer, that feeling of being overjoyed by his smile, was so real and intense.
She slowly slid down into the shadow behind the stone pillar, burying her burning cheeks between her knees, her golden twin ponytails falling down to cover her bright red ear tips.
It felt like two little people were arguing inside me.
One of them said: "Barbara, you are the prayer pastor of the West Wind Church. You should focus on serving and singing, and not have these distracting thoughts."
The other one retorted softly: But... Mr. Yichen... he's so nice... and, just when he looked at me and smiled, I felt... so happy...
These two emotions intertwined, leaving her feeling both sweet and uneasy, both expectant and afraid.
Ultimately, the quiet rebuttal seemed to gradually gain the upper hand.
She quietly raised her head and looked out at the sunlight through the gap between her knees, and it seemed as if Yichen's smiling eyes appeared before her again.
The corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl upwards little by little.
A secret joy, a mixture of shyness and sweetness, belonging to a young girl, quietly wrapped around her heart like a newly sprouted vine.
Maybe... just maybe...
Occasionally, there's that tiny, fleeting thought of not focusing on prayer...
Lord Wind God... will forgive me, right?
A moment later, Yi Chen, carrying the tranquil atmosphere of the church and a lingering sense of confusion from Barbara's inexplicable escape, pushed open the door of his villa.
However, the scene inside the door instantly brought him back to "reality".
In the center of the gleaming living room floor, Ying and Paimon lay sprawled out in a stark "spread-eagle" pose, staring blankly at the ceiling, like two salted fish washed ashore by the waves, having endured hardship and given up all struggle.
The entire scene was permeated with a strong sense of despair, as if the fire had burned out.
Yi Chen blinked in disbelief, wondering if he had opened the wrong door and stumbled into a crime scene or a large-scale body dismemberment site.
He carefully walked around the two "human-shaped objects" on the ground, walked to their "corpses", squatted down, poked Ying's cheek with his finger, and then touched Paimon.
"Hey... I'm talking to you two..."
"I only cleaned the kitchen, right?! Why is it all burned out like this?!"
That's an overreaction!
Paimon's eyes moved extremely slowly as he looked at Yichen, his voice barely audible, filled with deep grief and resentment.
"...Just...cleaning up...? Mysterious plane crash victim...you make it sound so easy..."
She struggled to raise a little finger and pointed tremblingly toward the kitchen.
“You have no idea what we went through… It wasn’t cleaning at all… It was… double torture, both mental and physical…”
Ying slowly and stiffly turned her head, her eyes filled with utter despair.
"...Black...sticky...and...smokes...I wiped it three times...and it still smells..."
Paimon added that he was almost in tears.
"Paimon...Paimon's little hands...are almost raw from rubbing...and his soul...is irreversibly tainted...it will take so much Mora...to heal him..."
Yi Chen's lips twitched slightly as he looked at the two of them, who were acting as if they had really experienced a human tragedy.
"Hey, that's an exaggeration! It was just a little cleaning... uh..."
He recalled the vomit he had produced and the charred remains on the table, and his tone softened slightly.
"...just a little bit of a 'minor failure'!"
"A little bit?!"
"A minor failure?!"
Ying and Paimon almost simultaneously raised their heads sharply (although they quickly fell back down due to "weakness") and used their last strength to voice their accusations!
"That's rotten poison!"
Yi Chen shrank his neck, and seeing that the two of them were indeed exhausted, he finally had a change of heart and sighed helplessly.
"Okay, okay... thank you for your hard work."
He reached out and pulled the two men, one in each hand, up from the ground.
"To soothe your wounded hearts and weary bodies... tonight, Deer Hunter, it's on me, all you can eat, how about it?"
"real?!"
"A word is settled!"
The two, who were just on the verge of death and seemed about to return to the earth's veins at any moment, were instantly revived and stood up straight as soon as they heard the words "deer hunter" and "it's on me"! Their eyes suddenly burst out with amazing light and they quickly revived and stood up straight at an incredible speed!
Paimon had even started spinning excitedly in the air: "Yay! Paimon wants honey-glazed carrot and pork stir-fry! Sweet flower-stuffed chicken! Fisherman's toast! And more..."
Ying also moved her wrists, and her eyes regained their sparkle, as if she wasn't the one who had been lying on the ground pretending to be dead.
"Hmm, I think I could eat a whole wild boar."
Looking at the two "wounded" people in front of him who had instantly recovered and were now frantically ordering food, Yi Chen's forehead creased with three black lines.
"...You guys were all acting like you were going to die just now, weren't you?!"
Chapter 26 Barbatos!
The three arrived at the Deer Hunter Restaurant and found a seat on the side.
Miss Sarah enthusiastically brought over the menu, and Paimon immediately pounced on it, his little fingers flying across the most expensive dishes, muttering "this one," "and this one," "I want three of this one too!"
Yi Chen smiled as he watched Paimon order food. Just as he was about to say something, his gaze inadvertently swept over Ying sitting opposite him. Suddenly, as if he remembered something very important, he slammed his hand on the table!
"Ah! That's right!"
The sudden commotion startled Ying and Paimon, who were engrossed in studying the menu.
Yi Chen leaned forward, his eyes sparkling as he looked at Ying.
"Speaking of which, Ying! Didn't you have something to discuss with Barbatos, the god of wind?"
"The wind god... Barbatos?"
Ying was slightly taken aback by the question, and subconsciously repeated the name.
“When did I say…”