CHAPTER 384: CHAPTER 384: NAIVE AND CRUEL

Ariel’s room is predominantly pink, with a princess-style large bed, and on the plush carpet are various furry stuffed animals. Walking barefoot on it feels like stepping on cotton, the sensation is wonderful.

Lin Mengyao felt her frightened heart was comforted, but this comfort shattered upon seeing the array of animal skeletons displayed in the cabinet and a human skeleton beside the cabinet.

Lin Mengyao felt her face could no longer smile; her facial muscles stiffened as if they no longer belonged to her.

In the midst of the room’s princess vibe, such a thing suddenly appearing was not only a visual shock for Lin Mengyao but a mental one as well.

"Why do you have these in your room?" Lin Mengyao asked, pointing at the skeletons.

"What’s the matter? Don’t you think they look beautiful and cool? Look at how perfect their bones are, much better looking than those jade artifacts or whatever. Besides, don’t you think they clash with the house’s design? Imagine a cute and sweet princess living in a magnificent and sweet room. By day, she’s a beloved little princess, but by night, she’s a wicked witch who enjoys studying the bodies of living creatures, taking pleasure in killing. Doesn’t that sound super cool?"

Ariel batted her starry eyes, looking adorably at Lin Mengyao and Xu Ke. Xu Ke remained expressionless and unmoved, and Lin Mengyao, who once adored those eyes, resisted this childlike innocence.

At this moment, Lin Mengyao no longer saw Ariel as a cute girl needing protection; instead, she felt a chill all around. Everything Ariel said made Lin Mengyao feel like she was talking about herself.

"What’s the matter with you? Why do you have that expression? Didn’t you like me this way before? Dad was right; women are incomprehensible creatures, but since I’m still interested in you, I’ll forgive your rudeness and give you another chance," Ariel said with a head tilt and a smile.

Ariel didn’t wait for Lin Mengyao’s response but, as if recalling something, knocked on her own head, quickly ran to the bedside, peeked under the bed, and then with a childlike smile, pulled out a wooden box.

"Don’t just stand there, come help!" Ariel waved at Xu Ke and Lin Mengyao.

Xu Ke glanced at Lin Mengyao, gave her a look, then released her hand and moved next to Ariel to help her fully drag out the wooden box from under the bed.

The box looked untouched for ages, covered in dust. Ariel blew on it and was choked by the dust, coughing so hard tears almost came out.

"What is this?" Lin Mengyao curiously asked, looking at the delicately carved wooden box.

"This?" Ariel placed her hand lightly on the box, revealing a big smile, "This is my most favorite thing." Ariel said.

"But now I want to share it with you, are you ready to meet it? I’ll go get the key, don’t leave, I’ll let you see it soon." Ariel got up from the floor, bouncing like a rabbit, and retrieved a key from under the pillow.

Looking at her delighted expression, Xu Ke instinctively felt that whatever was inside wasn’t good. As Ariel crouched to unlock it, Xu Ke swiftly moved to block Lin Mengyao’s view.

Xu Ke’s intuition proved correct when at the moment he blocked Lin Mengyao’s eyes, the box was opened. Instead of gold, silver, or precious artworks, it contained a child’s skeleton, dressed in clothes seemingly from over a decade ago.

Ariel eagerly awaited Lin Mengyao’s scream, but hearing nothing, she looked up to see Xu Ke blocking Lin Mengyao’s view and pouted, but seeing Xu Ke’s focused gaze on the skeleton, she brightened up.

"So, don’t you think my work is particularly perfect?" Ariel, like an anxious child awaiting a partner’s reply, leaned on the box’s edge, her chin resting on it, her big eyes filled with longing as she looked at Xu Ke, while the other hand reached in to touch the yellowing bones, her face showing a sweet smile.

"Did you kill him?" Xu Ke asked, looking at the small corpse.

Ariel showed an exaggerated expression, "How can you think that? I didn’t kill him, he’s my first good friend, how could I kill him? I just made him exist in another form. He asked for this; he said he didn’t want to grow up and wanted to be a child forever. I didn’t have an elixir of life, so I had to do it this way," Ariel said logically.

"So, do you think I’m thoughtful, awesome, and responsible? I fulfilled my friend’s wish, letting him live this way forever, accompanying me by my side," Ariel carefully adjusted the part she touched and stepped in front of Xu Ke.

Xu Ke could smell the scent of dust and a faint hint of blood from her.

Not a superficial blood scent, but deep like a sea of blood ready to drown someone at any moment.

"Why aren’t you answering me, do you think I’m wrong?" Ariel leaned back with her hands behind her back, looking at Xu Ke and asked.

"I don’t want to comment on others’ emotions," Xu Ke said coldly.

"Alright then, let Sister express it," Ariel said and tried to remove Xu Ke’s hand from Lin Mengyao’s eyes, but Xu Ke took a step back with Lin Mengyao to evade her.

"This scene is not suitable for Yaoyao, she would be scared," Xu Ke said coldly.

Ariel pouted and muttered quietly, "Really, such a coward, so boring." Ariel touched her curly blonde hair, turned to close the box’s lid, and put it back where it was, only when everything returned to normal did Xu Ke release his hand from Lin Mengyao’s eyes.

Seeing light again, Lin Mengyao did not curiously inquire about what they saw. She finally understood that Ariel, at first glance, seemed angelic, but getting to know her more revealed her as a lunatic. Her actions couldn’t be gauged by common sense; she was a capital-lettered psycho.

Fortunately, aside from the skeletons, Ariel’s room had nothing else bizarre, except for the furry spider on the nightstand.