Eldritch Horror Theatre

"You want to wait here?"

The fact that this intruder could actually be reasoned with was certainly a comforting development.

But for such a dangerous person to not only stick around after talking, but to sit right down and look ready to wait by the stump for a hare—that was something else.

Salma, who had been watching Fu Qian with trepidation this whole time, looked so dumbfounded in that moment that she completely failed to control her volume.

Fortunately, the soundproofing in this wooden house was rather poor. Fu Qian had already heard running water from the bathroom a moment prior, deducing that Salma's mother likely hadn't noticed the commotion out here.

"Is there a problem?"

In response to her astonishment, Fu Qian simply nodded and returned the question with complete naturalness.

Of course there was...

Salma looked as though she wanted to say exactly that, but she ultimately lacked the courage.

"Isn't your mother about to go out on a date?"

Unfortunately, the excuse she came up with was simply too weak to work on Fu Qian.

Then...

"Suit yourself. If what you said is true, it might not be a bad thing anyway..."

Salma's brow remained furrowed, but her emotions had calmed a bit compared to earlier. Her gaze flickered for a moment before she finally let out a resigned sigh.

"So what kind of conflict did you two actually have? From where I sit, Wen still seems pretty serious about you."

"He's too irritable. It's exhausting spending time with him. If you're his friend, you should already know that."

Seeing that they were genuinely shifting into relationship talk, Salma stared at Fu Qian like he was a total weirdo, though this actually served to calm her down further.

"Is that so? I actually find him quite easy to talk to."

Unfortunately, as Fu Qian recalled their journey in the Old House, he found he could not agree.

...

"Do you want some water? My mother takes a long time in the shower."

Despite openly claiming their friendship had ruptured, he was now staunchly defending Wen. Fu Qian's behavior left Salma momentarily at a loss for words. She had hesitated before suddenly asking the question.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to call the police. I'm just a little thirsty myself."

Seeing Fu Qian stare back at her expressionlessly, Salma subconsciously defended her innocence.

It wasn't strange. Encountering such a tense, emotionally turbulent situation made wanting a drink almost a human instinct.

"Sure, thank you. Also, it doesn't matter if you do call the police."

The situation had suddenly turned somewhat eerie. Studying Salma as she combed her fingers through her hair, Fu Qian ultimately accepted the offer.

Though his little addendum caused Salma's breath to hitch.

"...I'll be quick."

Hesitating as if she wanted to say more, Salma ultimately offered no further defense. She opened the door and slipped out quietly.

Through the brief glimpse afforded by the open door, Fu Qian practically confirmed the layout of the entire house, even spotting clothes discarded directly in the living room.

Judging by the color and style, they clearly didn't belong to Salma.

That fellow student's girlfriend's mother had quite a bold style.

Of course, the more significant takeaway was that it all but confirmed only this mother and daughter lived in the house, hence the lack of modesty.

...

"Here."

Salma's returning footsteps were even lighter. The moment she opened the door and peeked in, her expression carried a peculiar complexity, seemingly disappointed she hadn't found the ideal scenario—such as the uninvited guest having already left.

Quickly accepting reality, however, she handed over a glass of water with a seamless sigh, simultaneously taking a sip from the other glass in her hand.

"Thanks. You didn't take the opportunity to spit in it, did you?"

Taking it casually, Fu Qian inspected the clear glass as he thanked her.

"...How could I!"

Salma, who was drinking at that exact moment, nearly choked. As she patted her chest, her cheeks flushed red from holding her breath, which only made her look even more youthful and pretty.

"I'm kidding... The water filtration system here is pretty good."

Taking in her reaction, Fu Qian lifted the glass a moment later and took a large gulp, even offering a compliment.

"My mother's boyfriend helped set it up... Though not the one she's going on a date with tonight, of course."

Salma's expression was somewhat complicated. At the same time, her answer confirmed his earlier speculations about their family situation to a certain extent.

"Are you still thirsty, Mister Wolf? Do you want to drink from my glass?"

Then, facing a Fu Qian who surprisingly offered no critique, she locked eyes with him and suddenly offered her own glass.

Even though he hadn't finished the water in his hand yet.

...

"Sure."

Faced with Salma's warm hospitality, Fu Qian kept his gaze fixed on her face, and a few seconds later, he actually took it.

The next moment, he set his original glass aside and directly drained the new one in a single gulp.

"Thank you for not minding."

Watching Fu Qian's actions, the lingering fear on Salma's face vanished instantly, and her tone became somewhat peculiar.

"Actually, you were right. Wen hasn't been quite so irritable with me, especially lately."

Taking the empty glass from Fu Qian's hand, Salma played with it as she sat down on the bed opposite him, even wearing a smile.

"It's just a pity that one day, I realized my true self, and an increasing number of people are doing the same... isn't that right, Mister Wolf?"

Crossing her legs, she tried to balance the empty glass on top of them without letting it slip. When she failed, a trace of annoyance surfaced on her face.

"Oh, did you know? I actually never doubted that you were his friend. Wen told me this name, though it's obvious his opinion of you wasn't overly positive...

"Of course, after hearing about it, I was rather curious. I never expected to witness those bizarre quirks from his descriptions today. I have to say, you really are special... So, was the spit tasty?"

...

'It's a shame. Normally, healthy saliva is tasteless. You clearly didn't pay attention in biology class.'

'Also, my apologies, but I can't confirm whether your saliva is healthy or not either.'

Faced with Salma's sudden shift in style, Fu Qian continued staring at her unblinkingly as he thought.

Although he currently possessed no Transcendent Tier power, he could still pull off a minor parlor trick from the drinking table, especially while wearing thick clothes in the cold weather.

Regardless of which glass of water it was, not a single drop had actually made it down his throat just now.

As for why he harbored such wariness toward the goodwill of a frail high school girl, on one hand, it was naturally due to professional habit. The excuse she had come up with was a bit stiff, after all.

On the other hand, the earlier bit about waiting by the stump for a hare had just been a casual remark.

His actual purpose in staying here was to pressure Salma, thereby increasing the probability of her exposing her abnormal side.

As it turned out, she really did possess such a side.

Using her own saliva to drug him? And it seemed as though anyone who consumed her spit was supposed to immediately develop a special kind of infatuation?

This was surely the reason she had become so widely popular lately... just as Eva's notes had described.

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