Paintings of Terror

Before leaving, Fang Fei left her contact information behind and added the “Entering the Painting Theory” group to her WeChat. Everyone else stayed in a nearby hotel for one night, and had a break-up meal together the next morning.

After eating, they continued to sit, primarily because Shao Ling had a lot of questions to ask.

“So now it seems that the coordinates of all the art galleries you’d entered looked like a T and a triangle when connected?” Shao Ling looked at the map Ke Xun had saved on his cell phone.

“The angular shape at the end looked like a triangle, or a vertical slash and a right slash in the middle that might be the letter N or M,” Qin Ci said. “But I think it’s most likely the letter N or M.”

“So the coordinates of the paintings are based on the shape of these letters,” Shao Ling said thoughtfully. “And these letters are a hint?”

“We talked about it,” Qin Ci said. “Everyone thinks that there are two possibilities. First, these letters will eventually form a sentence similar to a code word or prompt, and it’s likely that this sentence will unlock the truth behind this whole incredible thing. Second, the letter formed by these coordinates could also be a huge signature.”

Shao Ling was shocked. He immediately went back to studying the image on the cell phone, and after a while, he said, “If this is a signature, have you tried searching for a painter whose signature starts with the letter T?”

“There are so many painters from all over the world, both at home and abroad. It would be hard to find, right?” Luo Bu said.

“At least we can exclude ancient Chinese painters,” Shao Ling said. “Only foreign painters or Chinese contemporary painters sign with English letters. The name starting with T may also be an English word or an abbreviation of the painter’s name. We should investigate the names of painters in various countries and disregard those without the letter T in their name. Then, using this method of elimination…”

“I’m afraid that’s too much work.” Qin Ci shook his head slightly. “You must know that in the paintings we have entered, there were even painters who weren’t well-known or those who weren’t very good at painting. Since we have to consider painters with various levels of skills, it’ll likely take us years to go screen everyone.”

Shao Ling thought for a moment and asked, “Then do all the painters have anything in common? Or any other connections?”

“Not at all,” Wei Dong replied. “We even tried to check the genealogy of these painters: We checked everything we could find and found no connections.”

“The only thing they have in common is that they’re all Chinese,” Ke Xun said. ｂ𝚎ｄｎ𝚘ｖ𝚎ｌ.𝚌𝚘ｍ

Shao Ling’s eyes flashed. “Does this kind of thing happen abroad?”

“No.” This time, it was Mu Yiran who answered. “I personally went to several art galleries abroad that were said to have supernatural events, but in the end, they all had had nothing to do with this. This incident seems to only be happening in this country.”

“Then it’s fine if we only investigate domestic painters.” Shao Ling refused to give up on his idea. “Have you tried contacting the painters of previous paintings?”

“Xiao Mu checked, but they’re all dead,” Qin Ci answered.

“This may be the second thing they have in common,” Ke Xun said, spreading his hands.

Shao Ling frowned. There seemed to be no solid clue, as if these incidents were happening for no reason and progressing with no reason. There was no cause, no result. And what if it continued indefinitely like this?

If this was the case, then what was the point of struggling to survive?

Seeing the dazed irritability suppressed between Shao Ling’s eyebrows, Mu Yiran said, “I believe that there is always a cause and effect. There is a reason for this phenomenon, so there’s no need to feel hesitant.”

Shao Ling smiled. “You’re right. I was a little impatient.”

“It’s normal. After all, you’ve only experienced one painting, and so it’s normal to be anxious to get out of this situation,” Ke Xun said. “Unlike us, we’ve already been numb to it after surviving so many paintings. Right now, just focus on eating, sleeping, working, and playing, as if nothing’s wrong. In this way, you can jump directly to our stage.”

“I’ll try my best.” Shao Ling recovered. After calming down, he reorganized his emotions and then looked at Mu Yiran. “So what kind of investigations are you all conducting?”

“First of all, we wanted to know if this phenomenon only started this year, or if it has always existed,” Mu Yiran said. “The first painting that Dr. Qin and I entered was at the beginning of May this year. It was also the first time for the other eleven people who were pulled in with us, so we have no way of knowing whether there were other paintings prior to us. If there are, then the letters formed by the coordinates of the art galleries that we’ve obtained may not have started with a T.”

“I think that, if we can determine when this entire thing started, we can gain more useful clues. So this question is particularly crucial.”

“Dr. Qin has classmates working in hospitals in various cities. He is in the process of contacting these people and asking in casual chats about some strange things that may be happening in their cities. You must know that these kinds of rumors always get passed around at hospitals, and the people who got out of the paintings often get sick, crazy, or injured in the real world. The hospital is a great place to get in touch with these people and things.”

“Haowen and Wei Dong are responsible for collecting and asking about rumors on the internet. Ke Xun and I are responsible for conducting research via books and print media and by conducting field visits. But so far, we have not found anything useful.”

“If you and Luo Bu have any connections you can utilize, I hope you can join in and help too. I will also contact Fang Fei.”

Luo Bu raised his hand. “Brother-in-law, I can join your and brother’s group. I don’t have a job, so I usually have a lot of time to run around. It’ll be fine if I don’t go home for a few months! Brother, let me stay at your house.”

Ke Xun was speechless. “….You can do it, but I can’t! You don’t want your girlfriend anymore?”

Luo Bu said, “My girlfriend said that two people can get tired of each other after being together for a long time and this will cause them to hate each other. She said it’s okay if I don’t come home for two to three months.”

Ke Xun said, “…I don’t understand your heterosexual love very well. Anyway, don’t squeeze into my house. It was very hard for me to finally be able to live in a two-person world, and I’ll kill anyone who comes in and bother us.”

Luo Bu: “Yoooo——”

Ke Xun: “…Yo, you radish head. If anything happens, I’ll send you a WeChat, so just wait at home.”

Shao Ling said, “I can also find someone to look into this matter and even open publications and social media accounts as a cover for us to solicit information.”

Wei Dong asked, “Can I ask what Boss does for a living?”

“I work in Wenxin Group,” Shao Ling said briefly.

Wenxin Group was one of the most famous literary operators in China. It had online platforms and print media publishing, with a huge audience and a high interactive feedback rate.

If Shao Ling could take advantage of his position to collect information, it would be tantamount to adding a powerful boost.

“Then let’s arrange it like this for the time being,” Shao Ling got up. “I still have to catch today’s flight. If there’s any news, please communicate in the group Wechat and keep in touch.”

After everyone sent Shao Ling off, they said goodbye to one another and went their own separate ways.

In the end, Ke Xun, Mu Yiran, and Wei Dong were the only people left in the hotel.

Ke Xun looked at Mu Yiran with a big smile on his face. “Then, let’s go home too?”

Mu Yiran also smiled softly. “Okay, let’s go home.”

Wei Dong next to them: … Who am I? Why am I standing here? Why am I suddenly eating dog food?

It was afternoon by the time they got home. This time, Mu Yiran brought a whole suitcase, and he watched as Ke Xun opened his suitcase like a big, happy dog and rushed into the bathroom. Seeing this, the corners of his lips curled into a small smile.

“I think our house needs more furniture.” Ke Xun stood in the middle of the central hall, hands on his hips. As he looked around at his empty house, he began to dislike it. “The walls are too white. Why don’t we change the color to a high-grade gray? Or a tranquil blue? Or a pale color? Maybe add a serious sofa in the living room and a small home theater? We can get a whole wall of bookshelves in the study for your books. We can also get a desk and throw my computer in the guest room. The guest room is empty anyway. By the way, I saw a set of coffee machines online, I’ll place an order now.”

“Ke Xun,” Mu Yiran hooked a finger underneath Ke Xun’s chin and turned him to face him, “this is your home, and it will be my home in the future. It needs both of our imprints, and it can’t be decorated based on just my preferences alone. Whatever you like, I’ll like.”

Ke Xun gazed into his eyes, and after a moment, he licked his lips and said in a low voice, “Whatever I like, you’ll like too? Then…” As he said this, he wrapped his arms around Mu Yiran’s waist and pushed him back slowly into the study. Suddenly, he hooked his feet, causing them to stumble and land on the computer desk. “I like this.”

He lowered his body, brushed his lips across Mu Yiran’s cheek, and lightly bit his ear, all the while, his hands were moving up and down.

He heard Mu Yiran’s voice ringing softly in his ears, like a sigh, like a light panting, with a soft and magnetic tone.

Not to die in the painting, but to die here, Ke Xun thought to himself.

Mu Yiran cupped the nape of his neck, and Ke Xun wondered to himself why he liked it so much. It was fine if his nape was touched and rubbed, but once the hair at the nape of his neck was tightly tugged, his lower spine instantly went numb.

……

Having a computer desk in the study was a good thing. They should discuss it further and continue to keep it in the study.

……

When Wei Dong called, Ke Xun was throwing the dead keyboard into the trash can.

Wei Dong asked, “What’s going on?”

Ke Xun: “Resting.”

Wei Dong: “After?”

Ke Xun: “Stop talking nonsense. If there’s nothing, I’m hanging up.”

Wei Dong said, “Now that you have a boyfriend, you don’t care about me anymore. Didn’t you say you want to buy furniture? My uncle will be in the store tomorrow. If you go to him directly, you’ll get a discount.”

Ke Xun said, “Okay. By the way… What brand of keyboard is more sturdy?”

Wei Dong asked, “Is your keyboard broken? Have you used a mechanical keyboard before? It has great tactile quality, especially when the keys are pressed. It makes a mechanical clack-clack-clack sound, which is pretty exciting…Is anyone there? Hello? Say something!”

Ke Xun finally said, “Um…I was just imagining it. It should be really exciting.”

“Yeah!” Wei Dong continued to talk, but Ke Xun’s thoughts began to drift away. Mu Yiran was sitting in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, drinking a cup of steaming instant coffee. The city was full of the fallen leaves of late autumn, and the golden red afterglow of the sunset shaded his beige sweater, making it glow with a fluffy warm light.

Xida:?I’m really sorry, but after some self-assessment, I’ve decided to drop this novel. My life has become incredibly busy and hectic lately, and it has been a struggle to find time to work on this project. Hopefully, a new translator will be found soon.