Buddhist player

In this town shrouded in mist, time itself seems to lose its meaning.

Leaning against the windowsill, the girl stared blankly at the street outside. Nothing piqued her interest, and nothing could hold her attention.

She felt utterly disgusted by everything there.

—Including myself.

Will there be any new changes this time?

The girl tilted her head to the side, closed her eyes, and seemed to fall asleep.

Time passed without her noticing. When the girl woke up again, it was already dark outside, the room was pitch black, and there was complete silence outside the window.

The entire town was eerily quiet.

After listening intently to the outside of the window for a while, the girl's face showed obvious disappointment.

Climbing down from the chair, the girl walked to the wall, stood on tiptoe, and turned on the bedside lamp. The warm yellow light dispelled the darkness, outlining a small, safe zone on the bedside table.

Looking at the closed door in front of her, after a moment's hesitation, the girl finally opened the door and went out.

The corridor was as dark as ever, but she was used to it. Barefoot, she walked to the top of the stairs and, with a little expectation, peeked out and looked downstairs.

Cold and deathly silent.

The living room was also dark, with no lights on. Only the faint light from the still-dark sky outside the window could vaguely illuminate the shadows cast by the objects in the living room.

In the middle of the living room, on the sofa, two blurry figures sat upright, lifeless, looking like two lifeless puppets.

As if sensing her gaze, at a certain moment, the two figures sitting on the sofa suddenly and silently looked up at the girl.

Without warning, without a sound, the chin and neck were at a 180-degree angle... That's not a movement a human being could make.

But in stark contrast to this inhuman posture were the sounds emanating from the two figures.

"Xiaoqi, is that you? We've already prepared dinner. Why don't you come down and have some? You've been a picky eater these past few days, and your dad and I are very worried about you."

Gentle, concerned, with a hint of obvious worry.

"..."

Sitting on the carpet with her back against the wall, looking up at the dark ceiling above the corridor, the girl didn't reply, but just pursed her lips.

A few minutes later, the living room returned to silence.

She got up from the ground, brushed the dust off her dress, lowered her head, and slowly turned and walked towards her room.

...She didn't dare to look up.

She only relaxed after she returned to her room and closed the door.

But before she could climb into bed, a slight sound came from her bedroom doorway. Judging from the sound, it sounded like someone had crouched down in front of her door.

"..."

After a brief silence, trying to control herself from thinking about these things, the girl turned and went to the bedside.

After wrapping herself up tightly in the blanket, the girl hugged her legs and buried her face in her knees.

If only it were just a dream.

"You seem very afraid of your parents? What's wrong? Is there something wrong with them?"

—Quite abruptly, a very curious voice rang out beside her.

The sound wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally clear, like a pebble thrown into a deep pool, instantly breaking the oppressive silence in the room.

"!!!"

The girl suddenly raised her head.

At some point, a figure appeared on the windowsill of her room's bay window.

The boy seemed to have just climbed in through the window, and he was still injured, but he didn't seem to care. Instead, he casually leaned against the windowsill, with one leg bent in front of him and the other leg hanging down naturally along the windowsill.

Judging from his demeanor, it was as if he were not an uninvited intruder, but rather the owner of the room.

"...I recognize you."

After staring at the black-haired boy in front of her for a while, the girl suddenly spoke.

Earlier that day on the bus, you gave me the middle finger.

"Uh... cough, that was an accident."

She coughed, and the other person first reached into their pocket, then took something out and threw it at her.

"In that case, consider this an apology; no need to thank me."

Instinctively, the girl reached out and took the object, but after she saw what it was, she fell silent.

—It was a green apple flavored lollipop.

"Alright, I've already apologized, so don't hold it against me anymore. I'm being chased right now, so I'll just hide here for a while."

With a wave of his hand, the boy braced himself with one hand and jumped down from the windowsill with great style.

"Don't worry, I won't bother you. If anything happens, I'll leave immediately."

"There's no need."

Holding the lollipop in her hand, the girl lowered her eyes.

"Anyway, no matter what the process is, the result is the same."

"Oh? What do you mean?"

A stool had somehow appeared in his hand. He sat down on the edge of the bed, resting his chin on his lap with one hand, and adopted an expression of attentive listening.

"...You're not the first."

Looking up at the boy, the girl suddenly spoke.

"Someone contacted me four days ago."

"Does he have short hair and a scar on his face?"

Seemingly unsurprised by her words, the boy raised an eyebrow.

"And then, what did she do?"

"She killed me."

Looking directly into the girl's eyes, the girl remained expressionless.

"She and her teammates believed I was the source of everything, and that killing me would restore everything to normal. But unfortunately, she failed, and I'm very disappointed."

The girl's voice sounded quite calm, even eerily calm.

"So, what are you planning to do to me now?"

"Me? I'm a little hungry right now."

Nodding, the boy raised his hand with a serious expression.

"Furthermore, heaven can bear witness, I am also a victim. Look at the injuries on my body now, they were inflicted by that guy."

"...There's no difference."

After a brief silence, the girl lowered her head.

"I know what you're trying to say, but I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you, because I know nothing. I would be very grateful if someone could successfully kill me..."

Before the girl could say a word, a cake was suddenly handed to her.

"You seem a bit off right now. I suggest you have some dessert to cheer yourself up. And coincidentally, it's my birthday today, so you're in luck."

"By the way, would you like to hear my story?"