Chapter 656
Chapter 656
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 656
>Chapter Title: Line of Sight
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Chapter 656: Line of Sight
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> After chasing Sun Xiaoqin away, Li Huowang let out a breath in the somewhat messy bedroom, now alone, and sat down on the stool.
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> He opened the calendar and glanced at Yang Na’s birthday. It was only a few days away.
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> Li Huowang silently calculated in his mind. On her birthday, besides the surprise of his discharge from the hospital, what gift should he give Yang Na?
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> “Wait, exactly how many points do I need on the exam to get into Yang Na’s university?”
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> Li Huowang lightly tapped the screen, and a number popped up that made him gasp.
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> But soon, Li Huowang gritted his teeth, his gaze firm.
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> “I’ll go all in. Since I promised Yang Na, I have to do it. I’ve been through so much—what’s there to fear about this?”
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> Li Huowang got right to it. He immediately searched for study materials on his phone and dove in with full focus.
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> “Creak~” The door to Li Huowang’s bedroom slowly opened.
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> When Sun Xiaoqin, dressed in her pajamas, saw Li Huowang with his head down, staring at his phone, she nodded in satisfaction and slowly backed out.
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> “Hmm, playing on the phone is good. Young people should be playing on their phones.”
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> Time ticked by. The neighborhood gradually quieted down. In the dead of night, only the sound of Li Huowang rubbing his temples slowly echoed.
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> Finally, at one in the morning, Li Huowang closed his eyes and flopped back in despair, his mind buzzing.
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> “Alright, I was wrong. I’m really scared of this. Why is it so profound? I swear I learned this in class—why can’t I understand it now?”
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> Some things can’t be conquered just with willpower and effort. If you don’t get it, you don’t get it. This really can’t be self-taught.
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> Li Huowang knew he needed systematic learning. Random studying at home probably meant he’d never get into Yang Na’s university in his lifetime.
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> “What to do? I have to figure something out. Even if I can’t catch up to her sophomore year, at least make it by her senior year.”
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> With his eyes closed in thought, Li Huowang suddenly felt the paper bills in his pocket and came up with a solution.
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> “Can I use this money to buy online courses? Or some training program?”
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> “Right, and the red envelope my mom stuffed for Yi Donglai. That should cover it.”
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> With that thought, Li Huowang got to work again, ignoring the one a.m. fatigue, and opened his phone to search once more.
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> While Li Huowang was still planning his college entrance exam strategy, he suddenly sensed something, and his brows furrowed.
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> “Are you kidding me? The neighborhood committee ladies are still working this late? Talk about dedication.”
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> Li Huowang reached out and pulled back a corner of the curtain, peering outside, but he saw no one.
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> “Am I too tired?” Li Huowang wondered, then lay straight down on the bed.
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> He closed his eyes, forcing himself to sleep, trying to forget that unusual feeling and see if it would vanish once his energy recovered.
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> But tossing and turning, that sensation of being watched kept Li Huowang wide awake.
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> At that moment, he finally understood what “a thorn in the back” truly meant—he hadn’t been wrong! Something really was watching him.
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> “I have to see what it is!” Li Huowang shot up from the bed.
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> He yanked back a corner of the starry curtain again and carefully scanned the pitch-black neighborhood.
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> It was very dark outside, making it hard to spot anyone hiding.
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> After standing there for over half an hour, Li Huowang finally traced the gaze to its source.
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> The figure stood in a pitch-black corner, still as a statue.
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> In a hazy blur, Li Huowang sensed it was tall and thin.
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> After shaking his head hard, the figure in the darkness seemed to shift shape.
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> It was too dark outside—Li Huowang thought he might have seen wrong.
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> “Could it be…” Li Huowang recalled the mad ramblings Qian Fu had spouted at him before.
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> “Impossible. How could it be? Why am I even thinking about that guy? Have I gone mad?”
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> Whatever it was, Li Huowang decided he had to see it with his own eyes. That thing lurking in the dark sure wasn’t Neighborhood Committee Qi.
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> Li Huowang quickly grabbed a pillow and placed it on the stool, adding other items to make its shadow in the window look more human-like.
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> He did this to avoid alerting it, while he himself slowly crawled to the floor, slipped out of the bedroom, opened the security door, and stepped out.
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> To avoid noise, Li Huowang didn’t even put on shoes. He quietly descended via the fire escape, using the landscaping for cover as he crept toward it.
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> As Li Huowang drew closer, the thing’s outline gradually sharpened.
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> “Huowang!!” A shout from the neighborhood made Li Huowang instinctively look up.
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> There, from his bedroom window, Sun Xiaoqin in her pajamas anxiously stuck her head out, peering around.
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> When Li Huowang looked back at the spot, the outline was gone. It was still pitch black, but empty now.
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> “It ran? Where to?” Li Huowang anxiously searched.
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> “Son! Where are you? Don’t scare me!”
>Sun Xiaoqin leaned half her body out the window, scanning the neighborhood.
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> Hearing the worry in Sun Xiaoqin’s voice and seeing window after window light up, Li Huowang reluctantly stood up.
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> “Mom, I’m here! It’s fine, something fell—I came down to pick it up.”
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> “What are you picking up in the middle of the night? Can’t it wait till morning? Get back up here!”
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> Li Huowang glanced once more at the darkness, then turned and headed upstairs.
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> The rest of the night, Li Huowang lay on the bed with eyes wide open until dawn.
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> Over breakfast, Li Huowang’s mind was still on whatever that thing from last night had been.
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> First off, he was certain: whatever its intent, that thing had been watching him. It existed.
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> The gaze he’d sensed before was probably only half from Qi. The rest was from it.
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> “But why is it watching me?” Li Huowang couldn’t figure it out. He had nothing of value.
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> Hiring someone to tail him like this would cost a fortune.
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> “Son, what’s wrong with you? Fallen in love with spacing out?”
>Sun Xiaoqin lifted the tray with one hand and wiped the table swiftly with a rag in the other.
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> “Why aren’t you gaming? Go play. I’ve got your computer warmed up for you.”
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> “Mom, I don’t want to play games.” Li Huowang rubbed his forehead, head aching. He couldn’t tell his mom about this, or she’d think he was sick again.
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> “Nonsense! How could someone your age not want to play games? Hurry up and go. Don’t live like an old man. I’ll cut you a fruit platter later—what fruit do you want?”
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> Li Huowang sighed and stood, returning to his bedroom.
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> (End of chapter)