manynovel Chapter 241: It Turns Out You Were Wrong
Chapter 241: It Turns Out You Were Wrong
The soft patter of footsteps drifted from the staircase, slowly approaching Shen Yibin’s bedroom. The sound was peculiar—not human. They were too light to be Hah’Er’s, and Egg was now at Sakai Kaori’s Honjin Raccoon Shrine. That made the visitor’s identity self-evident.
’Are you kidding me? I practically died at the dinner table, and you’re still not going to let me off the hook, Shi Gaofei? You already mopped the floor with the police dog unit today. Isn’t that enough for you?’
’I’m drunk. I’m not sober. There’s nothing else I can do.’ Shen Yibin resorted to his last-ditch effort: he flopped his head onto the pillow, yanked the covers over his head, and hid completely, hoping to fool the intruder.
CREAK. The bedroom door swung open. A fresh wave of regret washed over Shen Yibin. ’Why the hell did I forget to close the door!’ Of course, in his drunken, dizzy state, there was no way he would have remembered something like that.
The almost inaudible footsteps stopped right beside the bed. Then, he heard something suddenly leap onto the mattress. Two paws began scratching at the covers, apparently trying to pull them away.
’I’m asleep. I know nothing. I know nothing.’ Shen Yibin squeezed his eyes shut, trying to hypnotize himself. ’Even if Shi Gaofei claws this blanket to ribbons, I’ll accept it. As long as I can escape tonight’s ordeal, I don’t care if I end up sleeping without any covers. I really can’t take it anymore.’
Because he was feigning sleep, Shen Yibin didn’t dare move a muscle. Thus, Shi Gaofei gradually managed to pull the blanket away, exposing his head. Shen Yibin kept his eyes squeezed shut and let out a few snores, hoping to make his act more convincing and trick Shi Gaofei into leaving.
Suddenly, he felt a puff of hot breath on his face. Shi Gaofei must have pressed its face close to Shen Yibin’s to get a better look. Shen Yibin squeezed his eyes shut even tighter.
"HUFF... HUFF..." Shi Gaofei panted softly and began circling Shen Yibin’s head, as if trying to figure out how to wake him. Shen Yibin felt something like a rope brushing against his face. ’Looks like Shi Gaofei came fully prepared,’ he thought. ’It even brought the dog leash.’
’Bro, I’m begging you. I’m completely drunk, and you still want to take *me* for a walk?’ Shen Yibin wanted to cry but had no tears left. ’No matter what you try today, I’m keeping my eyes shut and I’m not getting up! Let’s see what you do about that! I’m asleep... I’m asleep...’ He started the self-hypnosis again, his snores growing even louder.
"HUFF... HUFF..." Shi Gaofei’s panting seemed to get farther away. It sounded like it had moved to the edge of the bed. ’Was my acting that good? Did I actually fool this little rascal? Is it giving up and leaving?’ A wave of secret delight washed over Shen Yibin. ’Looks like I’m finally spared from torment this afternoon.’
Just as Shen Yibin was congratulating himself, a tingling, itchy sensation suddenly spread across his face. The dog leash was apparently being dragged across him, slowly scraping past his ear, over his eyelid, and finally coming to rest near his nostrils.
’Oh crap, oh crap, gotta hold on!’ Shi Gaofei had been dragging that leash around for days, and the rope was frayed and fuzzy. Those tiny fibers tickling Shen Yibin’s face were excruciatingly itchy, and he was dying to reach up and scratch furiously. But knowing Shi Gaofei was still there, Shen Yibin resisted with all his might.
To fight the urge to scratch, Shen Yibin secretly pinched the flesh of his outer thigh under the covers and gave it a hard twist, hoping the pain would distract him from the itch on his face. The method seemed to work. He didn’t so much as twitch, even as the very tip of the leash scraped past his eyelid.
The tip of the leash was even more frayed and had more bristles, making the itching sensation even more intense. Shen Yibin could only tell himself, ’Just three more seconds and it’ll be over. Three more seconds and Shi Gaofei will jump off the bed and scram. As for whether it goes downstairs to pester Xia Shixuan or finds Sylvie, that’s not my problem. I’ve been tortured enough these past few days. It’s about time you guys got a taste of it. Poor Hah’Er, though... he probably won’t be able to escape.’
Two seconds to go. As he felt the end of the leash reach the bridge of his nose, Shen Yibin could almost see the light of victory. At that exact moment, however, a few errant bristles from the frayed tip poked right inside his nostril. The inside of a nostril is far more sensitive than an ear or a cheek, and an unbearable, maddening itch exploded from deep within his nose.
"ACHOO! ACHOO! ACHOO!" He let out a series of three thunderous sneezes. The violent convulsions forced him into a sitting position, and just like that, all the painstaking effort he’d put into enduring for so long went completely down the drain.
Shen Yibin fumbled around on the headboard for a moment before he found a few tissues. ’Man, why am I going through tissues so fast these days...’ After wiping the tears and snot from his face, he turned to throw the tissues away and found himself looking right into Shi Gaofei’s eyes.
"Oh, my head hurts so much. I really can’t move. I’d better get back to sleep," Shen Yibin said, pretending he was still drunk. He lay back down, but before he could pull the blanket over his face, Shi Gaofei leaped onto his stomach, dangling the leash from its mouth right in front of him.
’Damn it, why the hell didn’t I just throw this stupid leash away? Then this never would have happened! I was so close!’ Shen Yibin was on the verge of tears. He put on a weak, listless voice. "I really can’t get up today. Tomorrow. How about I go for a run with you tomorrow, okay?"
"HUFF... HUFF..." Shi Gaofei, however, was completely unmoved. If Shen Yibin had actually been asleep, there wouldn’t have been much it could do. But now that it knew he was awake, it would stop at nothing to get him out of bed.
After a brief standoff, Shen Yibin threw in the towel. He’d witnessed Pingtou’s patience firsthand and knew that if he didn’t comply, he probably wouldn’t get any sleep that night. "You win. I’ll get up, wash my face, and go out with you." ’Sigh. Not even getting drunk can save me from the fate of being walked,’ he lamented.
He got out of bed, changed his clothes, and went to the bathroom to wash up. The cold water finally cleared his head. The entire time, Shi Gaofei sat by the door, staring at him, giving him absolutely no chance to escape.
"Let’s go!" Holding the leash, Shen Yibin led Shi Gaofei slowly down the stairs into the first-floor living room. "Hah’Er! Sylvie! Shi Xuan! Time for our workout!"
Huh? What in the world was Hah’Er doing? When Shen Yibin saw him, his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.