Reverse flow of the Yellow Springs

Chapter 24 Dating
The doll was completely taken aback by Li Yunyan's words, and covered its face shyly while holding up the advertising sign.

[No, no, we're just colleagues (ω)]
"It's obviously suspicious!" Li Yunyan muttered under her breath.

Upon hearing Li Yunyan's words, Li Yelai first retorted, "Can't you think of anything else besides being a sugar daddy?"

Then, realizing what was happening, she asked in surprise, "Aren't you scared?"

The doll was completely confused and quickly checked itself to see if any strands of hair were showing.

Li Yunyan shook her head. Her curse prevented her from looking directly at any living being other than Li Yelai—humans, animals, even living plants.

Therefore, Li Ye always had to clean and prepare the fish at the market before coming. As for vegetables, there was no way to get them, so Li Yunyan could only try to avoid them.

As a result, Li Yunyan saw Li Yelai enter the kitchen several times with a bag of strange and terrifying objects, which he then turned into normal food.

"Perhaps it's because I didn't see her in person?" Li Yunyan analyzed, looking at the doll. "All I can see is a strangely cute snowman doll. Why is she dressed like that?"

The mascot held up a sign in response: "[Others will feel scared when they see me (_)]"
She didn't hide her curse from Li Yunyan, but openly told her about it.

"That's the complete opposite of me," Li Yunyan complained. "I'm terrified of everyone."

The doll seemed somewhat surprised, and then looked at Li Yelai.

Li Yelai nodded slightly and whispered to the doll, "The captain knows, but please keep it a secret."

[Mmm, I'm very tight-lipped (｀＾)ノ]
The curses of Li Yunyan and the doll are exactly opposite.

In Li Yunyan's eyes, everyone was a demon or monster. She was afraid of everyone.

Outsiders, however, view dolls as if they were monsters or demons. Everyone is afraid of them.

To evade the curse, the doll donned a doll costume, obscuring all view.

This prevents the curse from taking effect, because others cannot see her true form.

As a result, Li Yunyan's curse had no effect; she only saw a snowman doll.

"In other words, if I could dress every creature in your field of vision in a mascot costume, you wouldn't have to be afraid anymore?" Li Yelai pondered.

"I think this is a stupid idea," Li Yunyan complained.

The doll, having learned the situation, warned, "[Your sister's condition isn't suitable for staying on the street for long. Let's go quickly. I've called the support team (ωυ)]"
The logistics team is a specialized unit within the branch that handles cleanup and support tasks. It is subordinate to the logistics team but is not a psionicist.

The driver who helped Li Yelai move his luggage was an ordinary person.

Normally, when psionicists are on missions, they are often responsible for transporting psionic weapons or transporting handlers.

So he didn't ask any more questions. Instead, he nodded to Li Yelai and the doll, and then silently stuffed his luggage into the back of a van.

Then, the car drove the three of them onto the highway, which finally put Li Yelai and Li Yunyan at ease.

Li Yunyan didn't look at the 'demons and monsters' outside the car window, but instead focused her attention on chatting with the doll.

Perhaps this is the first time in several years that I have spoken face-to-face with an outsider.

Or perhaps, they share a similar sense of loneliness with the dolls.

She was having a great time chatting with the doll.

The two chatted about what seasonings to put in the local specialty mochi from Border City No. 3, and then about the extravagant style of Lava Mine City, which used plasma cannons and thermal bombs to ravage the land.

They talked about almost everything.

Soon, the three arrived at the family apartment.

After showing their credentials from the Disaster Management Bureau, Li Yelai and the other two were allowed into the residential area.

Yang Chen was very thoughtful, and specially selected several houses in good locations for Li Ye to choose from.

After Li Yunyan makes her selection, she can pay and get the stamp directly.

You can check in that night.

Around midnight, Li Yelai and Li Yunyan moved into their family apartment.

That was a room on the seventh floor of Unit 1, Building 3 of the family apartment complex. It had three bedrooms and a living room.

It was said that the price was 25 merit points, but the captain, Yang Chen, paid the difference, saying it was a reward from before.

Having arranged everything, Li Yelai said to the doll standing at the door, "Thank you."

If it weren't for Yang Chen and the doll's help, Li Yelai would probably have had to spend more time. Li Yelai was very grateful for this.

The mascot, holding up an advertising sign, responded, "[It's okay, it's okay, I had a great time chatting too...]"
"Are you free tomorrow?" Li Yelai asked, taking the opportunity to invite him. He remembered his promise to treat the doll to dinner.

Therefore, he specifically asked the antique shop owner for leave. He hung up the phone amidst the owner's surprised question, "Have you finally figured it out?"

[Mmm (**)] The words on the billboard exude joy.

"How about we go out for lunch tomorrow?"

[好ヾ(ゞ)]
Li Yelai closed the door only after the doll had left happily.

But then Li Yunyan said with a strange expression, "Sigh, yandere, brother!"

"What yandere?" Li Yelai was taken aback, completely not understanding what his sister meant.

"That colleague of yours, the doll," Li Yunyan said mysteriously, counting on her fingers. "She followed you home without your knowledge. And she was very enthusiastic towards you, looking at you several times in the car. She even helped you move so she could have dinner with you as soon as possible. Isn't that yandere?"

"Plus, there's that beautiful senior who takes good care of you; she sounds very mature and composed." Li Yunyan said with a mischievous grin, "Let's get this love triangle exciting!"

"What are you talking about?" Li Yelai frowned and tapped Li Yunyan on the forehead. "She just happened to meet someone with high enough curse resistance to avoid being affected by her curse. Don't overthink it."

The so-called three great illusions of life.

Li Yelai knew him too well; he would never fantasize about such things.

Li Yunyan covered her forehead and couldn't help but snort.

She also understood that Li Yelai didn't realize how much one longed for and cherished to see someone with whom one could have a normal conversation in a lonely world.

Thinking of this, Li Yunyan said, "Brother, you should dress better tomorrow. Where's that suit from last time?"

Li Yelai thought for a moment, and realized that the suit he wore last time was still with Cheese.

“Then let’s buy one. We just bought a house outright, let’s be extravagant!” Li Yunyan waved her hand, making the decision.

Meanwhile, after returning to the branch, the doll immediately turned on its communicator and contacted a female handler it was on good terms with.

Ask yourself what clothes to wear and what makeup to put on tomorrow.

"Is the doll... going on a date???" The female processors who received the message were shocked, and their gossip instincts were instantly ignited.

So, apart from Cheese, who was busy preparing for her promotion and had no time to pay attention to her communicator, several other female processors immediately joined in on this gossip.

The doll is incredibly powerful, yet also pitiful. It has a good relationship with many of the handlers within the branch.

After quickly understanding the situation, the handlers made up their minds. 'Tomorrow, we'll give the doll an unforgettable date!'

"Arrangements must be made for her!" The onlooker team leader, the epidemic medical team leader, pressed on, "All off-duty support staff, get moving!"

So, the next day at noon, Li Yelai, wearing his newly bought trench coat, saw the doll at the intersection outside the family apartment.

Today, she changed into a khaki bear costume. Compared to yesterday's snowman costume, it made her look even taller and slimmer.

At this moment, he is standing at the intersection, playing with a few children who are passing by.

Upon seeing Li Yelai, he waved from afar.

As Li Yelai approached, words flashed across the advertising sign in the doll's hand.

[You look really cool in this outfit (..))]
"Thank you." Li Yelai smiled, pleased with the compliment. "Do you have a favorite restaurant?"

Seeing the doll shake its head, Li Yelai pondered for a moment, then pointed to a somewhat conspicuous restaurant in the distance and asked, "How about this one?"

The doll looked at it for a while and nodded, seemingly not caring where it would eat.

So the two walked side by side on the bustling street.

Unbeknownst to them, two groups of people were watching them.

One group consisted of handlers hidden on the street.

"That's Night General? He's kind of handsome!"

"Are they going to the Longde Hotel?"

"Contact the manager there and arrange the best private room!"

"We'll go too, we can't let the doll dating event be affected in any way!"

"Let the band there sing love songs!"

The agents secretly contacted each other and immediately took action.

The other group was hidden in a car by the roadside, their eyes filled with gloom as they watched Li Yelai in the distance.

"It was indeed him. It's confirmed by the Wang family's testimonies. He's the one who destroyed the altar!" the driver said. "He moved out last night; the place is empty. He's quite shrewd!"

"Don't be careless, Lord Black Umbrella suffered a loss at his hands!" the person in the passenger seat said.

"Lord Black Umbrella has been caught off guard and is now facing official officials. The first thing to do is cripple them, not try to befriend them with sweet words." A muscular man in the back seat said, "Follow him! Before he calls for backup, cripple him and wash away Lord Black Umbrella's shame!"

On the other hand, when Li Yelai approached the hotel, he realized that it was the Longde Hotel.

It's a famous restaurant located at the intersection of the old town and the surrounding area, and the prices are quite high. A meal there costs at least several hundred Giant City Coins.

'I've really gotten too cocky, daring to go to the Longde Hotel.' Li Yelai thought to himself, but without hesitation, he entered the hotel with the doll.

Although he is usually frugal, he will not be stingy at this time.

However, as soon as I entered, I saw a tall, well-dressed waiter approaching.

Li Yelai thought the other party meant something like, "You can't wear mascot costumes inside."

Then, the somewhat familiar waiter smiled and said, "Welcome, you two! Congratulations on becoming the ninth couple of the day. Nine is our lucky number, so your entire bill is 50% off! And we'll be providing you with a top-class private room!"

"Um, we're not a couple," Li Yelai explained, while looking at the waiter in front of him. He felt that the waiter looked familiar, and not only that, he seemed to have seen several familiar faces in the lobby.

"No problem at all," the waiter said warmly. "You two seem like a perfect match, and the fact that you've entered the restaurant at this hour must be some kind of destiny. Please, please come in."

Li Yelai wanted to complain. The doll was indeed very pretty, but she was wearing a cartoon bear doll costume. How could you say they were a perfect match?
And, it's 11:32. Is there anything special about that?
"What do you think?" Li Yelai turned to look at the doll and found that it was shyly covering its face, but it did not seem to be rejecting her.

'Great, why not take advantage of a discount?' Li Yelai thought to himself, and followed the waiter into the lobby.

Some of the guests in the hall didn't seem to mind the mascot entering, and instead smiled kindly at Li Yelai and the mascot.

'Today is exceptionally smooth. It seems I have my lucky days too,' Li Yelai thought to himself, before entering the private room on the second floor.

This was Li Yelai's original plan; the dolls couldn't be seen by outsiders, so they could only be placed in a private room.

We had barely sat down in the private room and placed our order when all the dishes were served immediately.

"We're really lucky," Li Yelai remarked.

The mascot, on the other hand, is holding up an advertising sign that reads: "[Could you turn around? I need to change my clothes (ω)]"
Li Ye realized this and turned around.

If she herself wasn't affected by the doll's curse, then naturally the other person wouldn't want to eat with her while wearing a doll costume anymore. She probably hadn't eaten a meal normally with anyone before.

Hearing the rustling sounds behind him, Li Yelai tried his best not to think about anything else.

Then I heard a soft voice: "I'm done."

Li Yelai turned around and saw a beautiful young girl standing gracefully in the mascot costume that had been removed.

She wore a white floral print long shirt, her fingers pinching the edge of a black pleated mini skirt, beneath which were ivory-white and slender legs.

Beneath her flowing hair was a blushing, shy face.

Her already beautiful face was made even more stunning with the addition of light makeup.

Upon seeing Li Yelai's gaze, her face turned even redder, and then she stepped out of the mascot costume in her white round-toed leather shoes.

It's as if they stepped out of a painting.

"Let's eat," the doll said gently, looking into Li Yelai's eyes.

On the other side, at the entrance of the Longde Hotel.

"We've confirmed that guy entered the restaurant. He's not in the lobby, so he's probably in a private room upstairs! That's better. It won't attract anyone else's attention."

"But be careful, he's quite strong. His abilities are unknown!"

"What's there to worry about?" the burly man sneered. "I'm a second-awakened psychic, and you two are first-awakened. The three of you can't even take him down in a sneak attack? He didn't even bring a weapon! Don't forget, if we can satisfy Lord Black Umbrella, we'll have hope for our potion ingredients."

Then, the burly man led the two men forward and pushed open the restaurant door.

He grabbed a waiter and asked, "Where is that guy who came in with the mascot? Which private room?"

Strangely, it happened in an instant.

The hall became unusually quiet, with more than a dozen pairs of eyes turning to the burly man.

The burly man frowned, about to unleash a curse.

But his face suddenly turned deathly pale.

"Is the curse of Night General encountering enemies when he goes out real?" The staff, disguised as customers and waiters, laughed.

The waiter who had been caught patted the burly man's face and said, "You've come at just the right time!"

(End of this chapter)