Circus of Horrors (1)
“It hurts…” Chen Li parted his lips slightly and let out the word.
Then his chin was released.
A faint red mark was left on his delicate skin.
Even he was a bit surprised—this was the first time he had managed to speak in a dream, rather than just utter meaningless, fearful syllables.
The room fell silent again, save for the sound of shallow breathing.
Chen Li wanted to ask something, but when the words reached his lips, he couldn’t get them out. He could only open and close his mouth in frustration.
He felt as if his thoughts were slowly being eroded in the dream, sinking deeper and deeper, and there was nothing he could do about it.
The arm being held down was soft and weak—his strength was utterly insignificant in comparison to the man’s.
Staring at him for a few seconds, the man suddenly reached out and began slowly lifting the red bridal veil.
Just as Chen Li was about to resist, all the strength drained from his body. He instinctively held his breath and looked at the man.
He wanted to know what this person—who appeared so often in his dreams—actually looked like.
As his vision gradually cleared, he saw golden dragon embroidery etched into the man’s black robe. Higher up was his subtly moving Adam’s apple, then his jaw…
And then he woke up.
Chen Li stared blankly at the white ceiling of his home, dazed.
A wave of frustration washed over him.
It was worse than having a movie cut off right at the most exciting part.
But there was nothing he could do—because it had only been a dream.
Just a dream.
Like usual, he got up, got ready, ate breakfast, and walked into his studio—only to freeze when he saw the painting of the slaughterhouse placed right in the center.
The terrifying aura suddenly hit him, awakening his memories and bringing the most direct shock.
Chen Li rubbed his aching head. He’d nearly forgotten he still had the identity of an NPC.
At that moment, System 001 spoke faintly: [Are you going to enter the competition?]
Chen Li hesitated: [With this painting?]
He hadn’t really planned on it—he’d just wanted to bring his inspiration to life.
System 001 replied, a little sulkily: [Yeah. Didn’t I tell you there’s a national competition coming up? It’s way bigger than the one your teacher recommended.]
Chen Li took out his phone and searched—it turned out there really was a national-level competition coming up, and he happened to qualify for the youth category.
Today was the last day to register.
[System, can you guide me there?]
System 001 pretended to hesitate, waiting a full minute before replying: [Fine, I will reluctantly help you out this once.]
It had been a long time since Chen Li had stepped out of his neighborhood. Luckily, the registration site was still within the city. He changed into a fresh white shirt, wrapped his painting securely, and followed the system’s directions to the venue.
Since it was the final day, the place was especially crowded. He blinked and obediently lined up at the very end of the queue.
These were all participants for the first round of selection. Most people would be eliminated in this round—only outstanding works would be chosen to move on and officially enter the competition. Of course, some entrants would skip the preliminary entirely and enter directly. Those people were clearly aiming for the national championship.
Chen Li had only been standing at the back for a short while when he saw many people leaving with disappointed faces.
It seemed the selection process was quite strict.
He also started hearing murmurs that seemed directed at him.
Feeling a little self-conscious, he glanced down at his outfit and nudged the system: [Do I look weird?]
The system, listening to the chatter, was silent for a moment: [Not at all.]
“Look at that guy—he’s so cute.”
“With a face like that, are you sure he’s not some influencer or celebrity?”
Similar remarks mostly came from the girls at the scene, though a few boys were mixed in.
People in the arts tend to have high aesthetic standards, and they especially prefer beautiful people.
In the past, Chen Li would avoid the gazes of others, but now, in the line, he had no choice but to stand still.
With a snap, Chen Li, confused, looked in the direction of the sound.
A boy, holding his phone, blushed deeply: “S-sorry!”
He quickly turned and ran away.
System 001’s tone was harsh: [He secretly took a picture of you. Do you want me to help delete it?]
Chen Li hadn’t expected the system to have this kind of function. After thinking for a moment: [Will I be recognized by players in real life?]
System 001: “[No, there’s a game protection mechanism. Unless you’re friends, players can’t recognize each other, even if they walk right past each other, let alone you, an NPC.]
Chen Li smiled: [Thank you, but it’s fine.]
It wouldn’t be good if System 001’s existence was discovered. It was just a photo, he had been secretly photographed when he was in school too.
The little incident quickly passed, and Chen Li focused back on standing in line.
He didn’t know that the quickly snapped photo had been posted online, with the caption: “A Glimpse of Beauty.”
The person who posted it on Weibo originally just wanted to share a passing thought. After all, their photography posts rarely got attention, and likes rarely went beyond double digits.
Unexpectedly, the post was seen by a major influencer, who excitedly shared it: [Is this an unedited shot? This guy is so handsome!]
Then, the influencer’s fans went wild.
[First time seeing Sister V post about a guy!]
[Ten minutes! I need all the information about this guy!]
[I was wondering who could catch Sister V’s eye. After seeing this, I’m on my knees! This is some divine face!!]
[Those eyelashes! Those eyes! That slim waist! Now all male protagonists in novels should have a face like this wuwuwu!]
[Hold up, give me the name of the novel you’re reading, haha.]
Even the influencer herself didn’t expect that the post would suddenly get unanimous praise from netizens, climbing to the trending list without any marketing.
Amid the many compliments and comments about his looks, someone noticed something else.
[Isn’t this from the Golden Butterfly competition? This guy must be a contestant!]
This comment quickly received a lot of upvotes.
The trending topic kept rising.
All of this had nothing to do with Chen Li. He had already submitted his work to the first-round judges. When the slightly tired reviewers opened the painting, their eyes widened in surprise.
One of them stammered: “Did you paint this?”
Chen Li nodded, a bit nervous.
“Are you really here for the preliminaries?” The reviewer was astonished.
How could someone with such talent not have directly entered the final round? Was that reasonable?
He could already tell that this painting would easily make it to the finals. Just one glance, and the intense pressure and suffocating atmosphere were palpable. But the fragile young boy in the painting added a unique color to it, bringing the image to life.
Such a painting, not to mention the youth category, could easily surpass the level for a higher age group.
The reviewer quickly handed over a form. “Fill this out, and can we take your work first?”
Chen Li smiled with a slight curve to his eyes. “Sure, thank you.”
“No need to thank me,” the reviewer said, a little overwhelmed by the attention.
It was then that he noticed the boy’s appearance—he looked barely of age, still very well-behaved, with none of the arrogance one would expect from someone with such talent.
Whose child is this?!
The reviewer silently raged inside, but outwardly remained extremely gentle, patiently guiding him through the form.
. . . . .
By the time everything was done and he was heading home, it was already getting late.
Chen Li bought a takeout meal at a convenience store and rushed home, completely unaware that his name was quickly climbing to the top of the trending topics online.
The event organizers for the Golden Butterfly competition were even helping to push his name. Although they knew little about the boy, they were aware they couldn’t miss this opportunity. While this was a national competition that industry insiders were closely watching, it was a good thing that it had captured the attention of online users as well.
The organizers even thought about reaching out to Chen Li to get him to promote the event.
Even if he were eliminated, it would still generate fresh traffic.
The organizers never considered that the boy might make it through. Even if he qualified for the competition, he’d never get past the third round. After all, this was a nationwide event where only strength mattered—good looks wouldn’t help. For an ordinary person to reach the second round would already be impressive.
Past winners had mostly been disciples of internationally renowned masters.
As for this good-looking boy?
People in the industry had no impression of him.
. . . . .
After finishing his meal, Chen Li received bad news from System 001.
System 001: [You need to enter a mid-level instance now.]
Chen Li: [Mid-level?]
System 001: [Yes. The one you participated in for your first time was only considered beginner-level by NPC standards. But don’t worry, the time flow in the mid-level instance is still slower than real life.]
Chen Li lowered his gaze: [Can I have some time?]
He didn’t want to worry his friends like last time.
System 001: [I’ll give you ten minutes.]
Chen Li nodded and quickly sent a message to both his teacher and Gu Fu, informing them that he would be in closed-door training.
They were the only ones who would contact him.
His parents had passed away when he was sixteen.
Once the messages were sent, he was immediately transported back into the system space.
The ghost bus wailed as it circled, only to be ruthlessly pushed aside by the glowing orb.
System 001: [Ahem, this time we won’t run into that guy, so let’s make sure to rack up some Horror Points! Let’s scare those humans to death!]
It didn’t take much to guess who “that guy” referred to.
Even though he often liked to scare Chen Li, he was actually a good person.
Chen Li didn’t say this out loud, though, or he’d be mercilessly reprimanded by System 001.
Fu Moyang probably never thought there would come a day when he’d get labeled a good person.
System 001: [Ten minutes are up. Let’s go.]
As the words fell, Chen Li was immediately transported away.
Even though this was already the second time he had been suddenly transported to a strange world, he still couldn’t help but jump in surprise.
He exerted all his strength to stop himself from screaming.
“Young Master Rum, would you like me to feed you?”
Feed me?
Chen Li froze. He slowly turned his head towards the voice, and saw a pale face.
Once again, he almost screamed.
The maid with the pale face repeated emotionlessly, “Young Master, would you like me to feed you?”
Her tone was flat, as though it was simply a pre-programmed response.
But for some reason, Chen Li strangely detected a hint of expectation in her voice.
System 001 reminded him: [Your identity is the young master of this castle, and this is your maid Emily. You can refuse her.]
Chen Li did his best to make his voice sound steady: “No, it’s fine, Emily. You may leave.”
Emily paused for a moment, then bowed: “Yes, Young Master.”
Oh, she was actually called by her name—how honored she must be.
Emily’s lips twitched into a strange smile before she turned and left.
Chen Li was so frightened he didn’t dare speak, shrinking pitifully and helplessly into the large chair.
Did he say something wrong? QAQ
Why did Emily smile so creepily?
Author’s note:
In this world, someone and Li Bao both have very exciting role-playing!
I AM NOT READY FOR THIS WHAT SORTA ROLE OH MY GOD MY BOY’S GOING TO HAVE SO MANY STALKERS I CAN FEEL IT