Daily Disposable Persona

Wasn’t that how the heroine acted towards the hero in an idol drama? She was shy, too afraid to confess, but then she saw him in the hallway and called out. She nervously glanced over at him while standing on tiptoe—the perfect ending to the episode.

The image struck Zong Yan like a crash of thunder. Inside he was at a loss.

“Sure.” He nodded at Ye JingMing’s friend, put his hands in his trouser pockets, and walked over. “What do you want?” 

Zong Yan got straight to the point. He casually released his hands and leaned against the iron railing.

The sunlight fell across his face, covering his entire body in gold. It was as warm as flowing honey, dyeing his white shirt a warm color.

The other students in the hallway were waiting for the parent-teacher meeting in the classroom to end. When they saw this scene, they gathered together and began to whisper.

“Am I seeing that right? Isn’t that Ye JingMing and Zong Yan from Class 3?”

“It must be them. Strange, doesn’t Ye JingMing hate Zong Yan? I remember his little brothers made trouble for Zong Yan before. Weird.”

“Did that really happen?”

“Yeah, I have a friend in Class 3. He told me about it.”

Compared with Zong Yan’s openness, Ye JingMing’s gaze was much more complicated.

“Um.” He instinctively touched his nose. In psychological terms, this was a signal indicating weakness or uncertainty.

“What’s the matter?” Zong Yan looked away from Ye JingMing’s face. He seemed very relaxed and glanced at the flag-raising platform below.

With his EQ, he had no idea what the other party was going to say.

After the previous incident, the normal procedure was to use a magic pattern to erase Ye JingMing’s memory, but Zong Yan knew Ye JingMing was a senior three student. The magic pattern had certain risks, so he asked for a favor.

As a result, the sisters of the Dragon Group Logistics Department gave Ye JingMing a confidentiality agreement to sign. After that they let him go.

Otherworldly incidents normally didn’t take place in urban areas. Most of the time, investigators could just evacuate ordinary people with search warrants or similar documents.

But lately alien creatures were proliferating all around the school. Investigators and the Logistics Department of the Spire Council were constantly at work. They’d distributed stacks of memory-altering magic patterns to all the investigators and drew up a number of confidentiality contracts.

The occult world had direct contact with various government officials. The terms of the confidentiality contract were extremely harsh, no laughing matter at all, which ensured to the greatest possible extent that information about the occult world wouldn’t ever be leaked. Of course, even if Ye JingMing suddenly went crazy and tried to post about his experience online, the investigators’ network monitoring was serious business; if he talked to the people around him, they’d probably think he’d gone insane.

But it seemed like this incident had also given Ye JingMing the most unforgettable experience of his life.

“…”

Ye JingMing glared fiercely at the onlookers behind them. His little brothers obediently went over and yelled, “What are you looking at!” “Don’t look, don’t look, Ye Ge is talking serious business with Yan Ge!”

When everyone backed away, only then did Ye JingMing hesitantly speak. “Are you actually an alien?”

Zong Yan: “…”

“Didn’t you read the confidentiality agreement you signed?”

In a strong and forthright way Ye JingMing declared, “I was frightened out of my mind back then. How could I actually read through something like that?

“So—are you an alien or not?”

He gulped nervously, and there was a little fear in his eyes as well as a gleam of light.

As one would expect, boys at that age are fascinated by cool things.

In high school, academic achievement decided everything.

Only later did you realize the world was more complicated than that. It was status and money that actually determined who had power and influence over the world.

For most people who suddenly discovered there were aliens around them, their first reaction was to make sure their life wasn’t in danger. Ye JingMing just thought it was pretty cool.

“I’m not. I’m a human like you.” Zong Yan said as quietly as possible, “If I had to describe it… it’s like a superpower.”

“What! A superpower!” Ye JingMing exclaimed so loudly he almost made the students in the hallway look at them again. He shrunk down and whispered excitedly, “Is that what happened that day, that weird feeling when you took me through the shadows? That was your ability, right?

“Oh yeah, you also sent a text saying I shouldn’t tell anyone, what did that mean? Are there any restrictions on your ability?”

After Ye JingMing was taken away by the Dragon Group, Zong Yan asked their classmates for his phone number. He quickly sent a message telling Ye JingMing not to reveal anything about the abilities he’d used in the haunted house.

Ye JingMing’s brain was in a tizzy.

What little boy hadn’t watched Ultraman battle Little Monster as a child? Not only Ultraman, but Armor Heroes and the Story of Hongmao and Lantu. What child didn’t dream about it in his heart?

Superpowers, fck, that was so awesome.

That night, Ye JingMing’s entire brain had been dumbstruck. It felt like he passed through a layer of warm water, and then he suddenly appeared in the corridor outside.

“What are you thinking about?” Zong Yan had the kindly expression of someone who was looking at a mentally disabled person. “You’ve heard that saying, right? Curiosity killed the cat. The more you know, the worse off you are.”

That was true, just like the words carved on the fountain of Miskatonic University: “Knowledge Is a Major Path to Ruin”.

“Oh, all right.” Ye JingMing’s excitement had been doused with a bucket of cold water. He scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed. “By the way… that day, I never said, uh, thank you.”

Although Ye JingMing never liked Zong Yan in the past, he also wasn’t the type of person who was afraid to admit his mistakes.

Zong Yan had saved his life, returning good for evil. Ye JingMing felt ashamed when he remembered all the obnoxious things he’d done before.

Zong Yan: That’s it?

“Oh, okay.” The black-haired young man waved his hand carelessly. His face was relaxed. “Not a big deal.”

That made Ye JingMing’s feelings become even more complicated.

That day, the Dragon Group made him sign a confidentiality agreement. During the process a lot of people asked him about Zong Yan in a gossipy way.

“Are you friends with the chief of MU?”

Ye JingMing: …? What’s the chief of MU?

“No, well, we’re just classmates.”

“Oh, so you’re not friends ah.” The investigator smiled mysteriously. “A friend is a good thing, like a crowbar and an old seal.”

Ye JingMing: My intuition says there’s something wrong here, but I don’t know what it is

At any rate, this conversation helped Ye JingMing understand Zong Yan’s status in the occult world, which seemed to be quite awesome.

He remembered when he was lying on the dissection table and his head was about to be separated from his body. The Night Watchman dropped down from above with a black umbrella, like he was glowing in the darkness. Ye JingMing really felt lucky that the other party hadn’t bothered with him for so many years.

“I did a lot of bad things before.” Ye JingMing took a deep breath. “I’m fully aware of my mistakes and I sincerely apologize to you. I hope you can forgive me.”

“It’s okay.” Zong Yan shrugged. “I accept.”

In fact, Ye JingMing had been displeased with Zong Yan for a very long time. He tripped up Zong Yan wherever he could, openly as well as secretly, but Zong Yan never seemed to take it to heart. He always looked lazy and relaxed.

Just like when they were freshmen in high school, Ye JingMing quietly put angry notes in Zong Yan’s desk, inviting him to the playground after school for a one-on-one bout. As a result, the other party was the first to leave the classroom at the end of the day, the same as always, and the angry notes ended up in the classroom trash bin.

Xia KeYan even talked to Ye JingMing privately about it, which made him feel even worse inside.

However, Ye JingMing was too superior to get his little brothers to beat people up. He had no idea what Zong Yan’s family conditions were, so all he did was exclude him however he could.

As for Zong Yan, he didn’t care at all.

Isolate him? Zong Yan didn’t have any friends to begin with. He didn’t care what people thought.

Angry notes? Zong Yan just ignored them. He always went directly home after school.

His calm and careless attitude made Ye JingMing feel very dissatisfied inside.

It was like he was performing a one-man show. The other party didn’t pay any attention to him at all.

Ye JingMing turned around and leaned against the railing. With his hands on the bar he looked at the parent-teacher meeting in the classroom.

“I don’t know why I hate you.” Ye JingMing fell silent for a moment. “Maybe it’s because she likes you.”

Zong Yan was finally stunned. “Who likes me?”

“Xia KeYan.” Shocked, Ye JingMing looked back and saw that the expression on Zong Yan’s face didn’t look fake. His heart grew even more painful.

What, could it be that his love rival was wishful thinking too!

“Huh???” Zong Yan’s eyes were about to pop out. The two young men stared at each other in the hallway.

Zong Yan was really surprised. He never thought a school beauty-level figure would like him.

“Maybe you made a mistake? I only ever talk to Classmate Xia about school. It’s inappropriate to say that kind of thing about a girl. What if you hurt her reputation.”

Ye JingMing: …

He was feeling desperate.

When he thought of the past three years of secret jealousy and wrangling with a love rival, which turned out to be his own personal carnival, he couldn’t extricate himself from his inner depression.

“… Xia KeYan and I have been friends since childhood.” Ye JingMing’s voice was as thin as a thread. “The way she treats you is special.”

Zong Yan wanted to say, I really don’t get that feeling, brother.

“So it’s like that. You think Xia KeYan likes me, so you targeted me. Let’s reverse the reasoning. Do you like Xia KeYan?” With immense compassion he patted Ye JingMing on the shoulder. “Brother, if you like her you have to go for it. It’s already senior year. You don’t have time to wait. In the future we’ll go to university and we’ll all be separated. This is a rare moment. Seize the opportunity ah.”

Ye JingMing was still a little confused about the situation. Only after a while did he react. It seemed like he’d just been given a pep talk by the person he’d imagined was his love rival. For a time, his mood grew even more complex.

“She doesn’t like me, and I don’t know if I like her myself.” As he spoke, Ye JingMing pulled his collar in annoyance. “Maybe I just like her out of some kind of hatchling dependency syndrome.”

Zong Yan: ? ? ?

He was about to speak when the classroom door suddenly opened.

During their conversation, the parent-teacher meeting had ended.

Then Zong Yan saw Yog-Sothoth’s benevolent eyes.

The evil god didn’t give Ye JingMing a single glance. He looked at Zong Yan with a smiling expression. He was still holding the report card that had a glorious number starting with ‘3’ printed on it.

As Zong Yan’s bad feeling got worse and worse, the other party spoke.

“Come back and do a make-up lesson with me tonight.”

Zong Yan: *slowly types out a question mark*

—

The author has something to say:

Zong Yan: The day has finally come

TL Notes:

got straight to the point – 开门见山 – The door opens on a view of mountains; come straight to the point; come straight to the question

flag-raising platform – 升旗台 – Most schools in China have one of these. It’s where flag-raising ceremonies and school announcements are made

power and influence over the world – 话语权 – discursive power –  the capacity to influence policies and political processes through the shaping of norms and ideas (via Google)

Little Monster – 小怪兽 – I don’t know this creature’s name in English. When I google it I just see little cartoon pictures of a cute T-Rex type creature and even some CP fanfiction… it’s a creature from Ultraman

Armor Heroes – from 铁甲勇士 (Armored Heroes) which maybe is supposed to be 铠甲勇士 (Armor Heroes) – a 2009 TV series that looks similar to Power Rangers

The Story of Hongmao and Lantu – 虹猫蓝兔七侠传 – Rainbow Cat and Blue Rabbit Seven Heroes – known as “Howie & Landau” in English, a 2005 Chinese animated series

Knowledge Is a Major Path to Ruin – from 知识是通往灭亡的重要途径 – Knowledge is an important road to destruction, etc.

a friend, a crowbar, and an old seal – known as an investigator’s “three-piece suit” or three most helpful items. This may be Call of Cthulhu RPG lore in the Chinese fandom. I couldn’t find a reference in English. “When you’re chased by a monster, first you give the old seal to a friend and tell him what to do. When that doesn’t work, give your friend the crowbar and have him face the monster, buying time while you run away (correct usage). Incorrect usage is when your friend knocks you out with the crowbar, leaves you to the monster, and runs away himself.” (source, paraphrased)

hatchling dependency syndrome – 雏鸟情节 – “hatchling circumstances”, “fledgling plot” – Chicks are young birds that rely on adult birds. Hatchling circumstances describes a person who has a strong dependency on someone else, which could be a classmate or friend (Jikipedia)