STB Chapter 22: Communication

This is machine translated and all copyrights belong to the author. Please note that the translator might take creative liberties for better readability. Thank you for reading.

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It’s a pity that until now, they’re still strangers with a shared secret.

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When you value a certain issue and find someone who treats it even more meticulously than you do, a sense of recognition can develop in your heart. Li Fei unintentionally touched upon that compared to Lu Zhao, who hadn’t gained much favor from him in over twenty years.

Jian Hua wouldn’t expose Li Fei in front of Major Zhang.

And Li Fei wouldn’t either. When Jian Hua seemed to have a misunderstanding, Li Fei immediately clarified it. His attitude was impeccable.

Considering that he might have to rely on the Movie Emperor for his future meals, Jian Hua willingly gave up his right to speak and followed Li Fei to the ground floor of the hospital. They crossed the courtyard and walked along a shaded path with nearby pavilions and flower gardens, where family members accompanied patients for leisurely walks.

“Earlier when I called you, it was from my personal phone number,” Li Fei suddenly said.

Jian Hua was contemplating the relationship between the abandoned world, ability users, and monsters, so he was taken aback by the statement.

Sunlight filtered through the tree canopy and illuminated Jian Hua’s face. His thin lips carried a warm hue, and the shadows on his nose formed a slender arc. His eyes awakened from contemplation, and that moment of radiance was particularly captivating.

In the entertainment industry, where handsome men and beautiful women were as common as fish in the river, Jian Hua didn’t stand out. He didn’t possess that aggressively attractive beauty or the stunning handsomeness that would make people scream in excitement. If he were a talented actor, his appearance would be a bonus point. If he were an idol star, his looks would only be considered average, slightly above or below par.

But in the world of celebrities, those with good foundations rely on nurturing, while those with poor foundations rely on enhancement. Li Fei had seen it all too often.

Even with his eyes open, Jian Hua appeared different to Li Fei compared to most people.

Jian Hua didn’t exhibit excessive emotional fluctuations. He remained calm and composed, yet he wasn’t devoid of opinions. He possessed a clear mind and had his own perspectives on things that were difficult for others to change.

Favorability is something you never know who to develop it for.

Li Fei had certainly considered whether it was the familiar environment of the coffee shop that made him feel at ease, or if it was the unknown power symbolized by Jian Hua that happened to trigger his concern for hidden dangers and curiosity about mysteries. Moreover, in Li Fei’s field of vision, Jian Hua stood out as the only existence that didn’t resemble a shadowy figure. All these factors could potentially interfere with his senses and judgments.

He wanted to see Jian Hua again, approaching it with a mindset of “I’ve had a few days to calm down and now I’ll make rational judgments.”

During the press conference, Li Fei did speak without thinking, exaggerating a three-pointer to ten points.

But now, it felt like all the stones he had lifted were crashing down on his head.

–Every word was so fitting.

Unfortunately, up until now, they were still strangers with a shared secret.

Jian Hua naturally took out his phone and added a note to that number.

As he looked at the plain and unremarkable name “Li Fei,” the Movie Emperor’s emotions were difficult to describe, and he couldn’t help but speak up to prevent it. “You’re directly adding the name as a note? What if you lose your phone? That would be troublesome.”

In the entertainment industry, there were quite a few people who would take the opportunity to peek at someone else’s phone under the pretense of finding an excuse. This led many celebrities to employ some tricks, so even if someone tried to peek at their screen while they were chatting sweetly with someone, they wouldn’t be able to understand what was on it.

For those who didn’t need to change their names, it was a formal working relationship, of course.

Li Fei took the opportunity to elaborate, but Jian Hua remained clueless and casually said, “Whether it’s a nickname or something else, it reveals my opinion of that person. Isn’t this more secure?”

“…”

It was heart-wrenching to have no opportunity to take advantage of someone you had a crush on.

Jian Hua put away his phone and then put his hands in his pockets, leisurely strolling along the flower garden path. “What is Geng Tian’s ability?”

“He didn’t say. Geng Tian has shown a tendency towards telekinesis, being able to open locks from a distance through mental power. However…” Li Fei lightly flicked his finger, and a few fallen leaves near his feet seemed to be lifted by the wind, drifting lightly towards the distance.

Telekinesis was just the foundation.

It seemed to be a skill possessed by every ability user. Jian Hua recalled the cabinets being moved by Mr. Cheng in the clinic.

“To what extent can you do it?”

“The weight of the object that can be lifted with telekinesis or the distance?” Li Fei’s gaze followed the drifting leaves, and he smiled. “I’m more interested in how delicately it can be done.”

As they spoke, they passed by a bicycle casually locked by the roadside. Li Fei slowed down his pace as if he only glanced at the bike briefly. Five seconds later, Jian Hua heard a faint “click” sound.

The lock had opened, but it was still attached to the bike.

“What’s this?” Jian Hua had a new understanding of the Movie Emperor. Would a normal person study lock picking?

“Based on the internal structure of the lock, using telekinesis to manipulate it.” Li Fei explained it casually, but in reality, to accomplish this, one would need eyes like his.

Jian Hua had the idea of changing the locks in his house.

He didn’t want to come home next time and find an injured patient lying on the living room floor.

“Locks with keyholes are not difficult; it’s just a matter of time. However, this ability is ineffective against mechanical locks with rotating dials and electronic locks.” Li Fei turned around, recalling the building in the Haicheng Military District. “For example, the branch of the National Secret Service’s Red Dragon, all of them use mechanical locks.”

Jian Hua felt relieved. So, it was because of the “tea-drinking” experience that Li Fei had pondered about this.

— This is Li Fei’s explanation to maintain his image.

At that time, Zhang Yaojin didn’t bother to lock the door, so Li Fei didn’t need to struggle with the lock.

Jian Hua recalled his own treatment: Major Zhang personally visited him from the Red Dragon, with a good attitude. He didn’t forcefully take him away or let him spend a night in a cold detention center.

In comparison, Li Fei’s experience was worthy of sympathy.

“I still don’t know what my ability is.” Jian Hua attempted to control the floating leaves, but only half of them floated while the other half was torn into pieces by an invisible force.

Without strong desires or intense emotional changes, the ability wouldn’t obey his commands easily.

They walked side by side on the shaded path. The path wasn’t very long, encircling a few buildings of the hospital’s inpatient department. From a distance, they could see the bustling entrance of the hospital, crowded with taxis and snack shops.

Jian Hua subconsciously touched his stomach. The waiting time at the hospital was too long, and he missed lunch.

Being an extra in movies was a tough job. Sometimes he would only have one meal a day. Jian Hua had gotten used to this irregular lifestyle, but ever since he entered the Abandoned World, he never dared to let himself go hungry.

The torment of hunger and thirst, the shadow of death looming…

“Join me for lunch?”

A voice came into Jian Hua’s ears, and he followed Li Fei’s gaze in surprise. His expression changed slightly. “The food stall restaurant at the hospital entrance is probably not hygienic.”

“Don’t say that! Roadside stalls are all the same.” Li Fei smiled.

Jian Hua decided to tell the truth, “I’m afraid you won’t be able to eat.”

…

The modeling industry was the least friendly profession when it came to satisfying one’s hunger. Models and actors were probably separated by the difference between the seventh and third levels of hell. It seemed much better on the surface, but in reality, it was still within hell.

People like Li Fei had managed to make it out. He didn’t need his assistant to monitor his weight every day, and he could gain weight and play ugly roles in movies without any problem. But after years of carefully selecting meals based on a strict diet plan designed by a nutritionist, Li Fei’s stomach had been thoroughly spoiled.

Jian Hua could eat from a roadside stall without any issues, but Li Fei couldn’t.

Having spent years working on various sets, Jian Hua had seen many celebrities who couldn’t tolerate heat and ended up receiving intravenous fluids the day after eating boxed meals. People who didn’t understand thought these celebrities were being precious, but it wasn’t about being precious. It was all the result of being pushed around. If the diet was too delicate and picky, it would weaken the resistance of the intestinal bacteria. Who wouldn’t want to sit at a roadside stall, drink beer, and eat grilled skewers?

Thinking about those wrap-up banquets where celebrities pretended they had already eaten and only took pictures to post on Weibo, Jian Hua felt deep sympathy.

Li Fei felt that his elegant and poised facade was about to slip away.

–Jian Hua truly had no talent for acting, and his eyes, expressions, and actions all revealed that he was contemplating whether to come up with an excuse to leave Li Fei and go to the snack shop alone to satisfy his hunger.

“Assistant Lin should have paid the fees, so let’s go up and check on Geng Tian’s condition. Huai City is so big, we can eat anywhere later.” Jian Hua casually reassured him. The film emperor was his bread and butter for the next year, and he didn’t want anything to happen to Li Fei.

“…”

Thankfully, in the end, Jian Hua chose the film emperor over his stomach.

But this wasn’t something to be happy about because Li Fei could tell that Jian Hua was wavering during the decision-making process, and he couldn’t be sure if Jian Hua ultimately chose him or if it was because of their employment contract.

It was probably the latter.

Li Fei was clear-headed and rational, even though he hated himself a bit for it.

Someone’s acting skills were superb, with no flaws in this series of emotional changes. Jian Hua was completely unaware and continued walking while searching for a topic to drive away the hunger that occupied his mind. “How much did Major Zhang talk to you about the Abandoned World?”

“He gathered a lot of information about people who appeared in the Abandoned World through surveillance, and these people told him many things,” Li Fei slowly voiced his speculations.

“I feel the same way.” Jian Hua stopped in his tracks and repeated a sentence from the information. [The Abandoned World is the term used by the informed to refer to a specific type of parallel world.]

Li Fei frowned. He didn’t consider the Abandoned World to be a parallel world at all. It didn’t fit the definition and seemed more like an abnormal space.

He didn’t argue about the classification issue with Jian Hua but instead followed the implied meaning in his words and smiled lightly. “What kind of people can be considered as informed, and why do they know the truth?”

No matter how absurd the statement was, the Red Dragon treated it as collected data. Li Fei thought about that peculiar “intimate relationship chart.” Even though he didn’t know the people on it, CEO Liang Jun being recognized as someone who had an improper relationship with him still angered the film emperor.

“People can observe signs of volcanic eruptions using technological instruments for analysis, but the secret service knows what’s happening without understanding the underlying principles. It’s illogical,” Li Fei had been pondering this matter for a long time.

“In fact, they not only know the secrets of the Abandoned World and the ability users but can also predict upcoming disasters,” Jian Hua turned to look at Li Fei with a serious expression. “Monsters will appear in the Abandoned World, and I suspect that Geng Tian’s injuries were caused by a monster.”

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Last Edit     06-26-2023     2:05 AM

This is machine translated and all copyrights belong to the author. Please note that the translator might take creative liberties for better readability. Thank you for reading.