Chapter 6: The First Step to Friendly Exchange

The girl in the painting, who called herself "Irene," stared eye-to-eye with Yu Sheng from outside the frame. So far, the two of them hadn't established even the slightest shred of trust.

Yu Sheng had no way to verify whether the words of this "person in a painting"—who seemed like some sort of cursed object—were true or false. Everything, including the "Alice Cottage" she mentioned and the claim that she had been sealed into the painting, was something he was hearing for the first time. Because of this, when Irene said she didn't know why she had appeared in this house, he didn't dare believe a single word.

On the other hand, Irene felt that this human named Yu Sheng was definitely still plotting to use his lighter to set her on fire. Her gaze kept tracking the movements of that lighter...

"I think you must have bought the painting yourself and hung it up at home, then turned around and forgot about it..." Irene repeated. "Doesn't that happen all the time? You humans see something rare and want to collect it, then you buy it and leave it at home to gather dust..."

When Irene said this, Yu Sheng actually felt a bit guilty, because he really couldn't be sure of the origins of anything in this house. After all, he had only truly arrived "here" two months ago. Not to mention being unfamiliar with this world, he wasn't even familiar with himself. Who knew what state this house and its owner were in two months ago?

Could there have been another "Yu Sheng"?

But these thoughts only flashed through his mind for a moment. Facing the gaze of the girl's scarlet eyes from within the painting, Yu Sheng subconsciously shook his head and replied, "That’s impossible. This painting looks very expensive at a glance; it doesn't look like something I could afford..."

"Hey, what if it was really cheap!" Irene hugged her teddy bear and scooted forward. "There are tons of fake bottles, fans, and paintings these days. Maybe the last seller bought me wholesale along with other paintings from some fake antique dealer for two-fifty a pound, or maybe the middleman just didn't know what he had..."

Yu Sheng’s expression was strange. "The frame you're in is solid, old wood, and there's gold wire inlaid along the edges..."

Irene thought for a moment. "Mahogany veneer with resin poured inside! Copper plating over iron wire."

Yu Sheng: "...Then the cost is already more than two-fifty a pound."

"Four-fifty is fine too, but it can't go any higher. Any higher and nobody would buy it."

Yu Sheng: "..."

Irene glared with her scarlet eyes. "Hey, why did you stop talking?"

Yu Sheng squatted in front of Irene’s frame, suddenly feeling a bit amused, and then he actually laughed out loud. He sat back on the floor, and as he laughed, he looked up at the ceiling, leaning back so far he almost tipped over. He had never imagined in his life that he would experience a scene like this: squatting in an empty room, arguing about nonsense with a doll sealed in an oil painting, just to discuss whether the frame sealing the doll was a piece of junk bought wholesale for two-fifty or four-fifty a pound...

And just a short while ago, he had his heart ripped out by a frog that spawned in freezing rain.

These things were just too damn interesting.

Irene, however, was spooked by Yu Sheng’s sudden laughter. She and her frame had been placed on the floor after Yu Sheng took them off the wall. Now, she could see the bare ceiling and hear the laughter coming from beside her, which finally made her shout, "Hey, stop laughing! What’s so funny about this?"

Yu Sheng slowly stopped laughing. He shifted his body forward, looked at Irene in the frame, and his expression suddenly turned serious. "That weird dream I had earlier—was that your doing?"

He was referring to the dream where he had used an axe to hack at a locked door, only to hear strange laughter coming from behind it. Now it seemed that this dream, which clearly possessed an eerie quality, was definitely connected to the girl in the painting before him.

Oh right, he had also thrown out his back in the dream—it still hurt now.

"No!" Irene shook her head immediately, but then she paused, her expression hesitant. "Well... not entirely no..."

"What does that mean?" Yu Sheng frowned. "That’s a roundabout way of putting it."

"That dream was your own, but I did indeed slip inside," Irene explained patiently. "I originally just sensed someone dreaming and wanted to find someone to help me using that method, but I didn't mean to do anything bad! I didn't know you couldn't open that door, and you had such a temper—hacking at the door with an axe just because you forgot your keys..."

Listening to Irene’s rambling, Yu Sheng gradually realized, "In other words, you didn't lock the door? You didn't induce the dream? You just have the ability to enter other people's dreams?"

"Yeah—actually, I can do a lot more than that!" Irene nodded, her face full of pride, but that pride quickly dimmed. "But now that I'm sealed in this painting, that's almost the only ability I have left..."

Yu Sheng was half-skeptical of Irene’s explanation, while also having more doubts and thoughts about what he had experienced in that strange dream. Immediately after, he had a second question: "You said you wanted to find someone to help through the dream? Help with what?"

"To get me out of here, obviously!" Irene said as if it were a matter of course. "Getting me out of this painting would be best, but if that doesn't work, at least get me out of this room. It’s empty and has nothing in it. Even a TV on the opposite wall would be fine... voice-controlled would be even better; it’s not very convenient for me to use a remote. A sign would be pretty good too..."

Yu Sheng realized that this girl in the painting belonged to a typical free-associating personality type. As long as no one was keeping her in check, her train of thought would always wander to places you’d never expect—and usually in the direction of getting carried away.

So, he interrupted her without hesitation. "Then why were you laughing weirdly when you were looking for help? What was that mocking laughter from inside when I was 'opening the door' outside?"

"That wasn't me!" Irene waved her hands hurriedly, then held up the brown plush bear in her hand. "It was him laughing!"

Yu Sheng didn't speak; he just looked at her expressionlessly, his eyes clearly saying, "Do you take me for a fool?"

"Really!" Irene looked a bit anxious and shook the toy bear hard. "He was sealed into this painting with me, but maybe it’s been too long, and his brain isn't working right anymore. Now he only has silly laughter left. Usually, if you poke him, he’ll laugh weirdly, but sometimes he’ll suddenly start laughing on his own even if you don't poke him. I get startled by him all the time..."

Yu Sheng kept a straight face while listening to Irene explain enthusiastically. After noticing the serious look on the girl's face, he gradually became half-skeptical. His gaze finally landed on the plush bear, and after a moment of hesitation, he nodded. "Then make him laugh; let me hear if that's it."

Irene immediately reached out and poked the toy bear's head.

The toy bear didn't react at all.

Irene froze, then poked the toy bear's head hard again—still, it didn't make a sound. She looked like she was about to cry.

"O... occasionally it's like this too," the girl in the painting said with a mournful face. "I poke him and he doesn't laugh..."

Yu Sheng’s mouth twitched.

"In other words, sometimes he laughs when you don't poke him, and sometimes he doesn't laugh when you do poke him. In short, whether he laughs or not has nothing to do with whether you poke him or not—" He analyzed the situation like a tongue twister and reached a conclusion. "So, does this bear laughing have anything to do with you poking him?"

Irene froze, then nodded slowly. "Th... that's right."

Yu Sheng didn't really want to deal with this "cursed oil painting" that seemed to have a malfunctioning brain anymore.

Besides, he no longer cared about the mocking laughter he had heard in his dream.

A rumble came from his stomach. The dinner he had missed by falling asleep the moment he got home was now making its presence known. Yu Sheng smiled, shook his head, and slowly stood up.

"Hey, are you leaving?" Irene’s voice became a bit panicked as soon as she saw him move. "You aren't planning on just leaving me on the floor, are you? At least hang me back on the wall. There’s wallpaper on the opposite wall to look at; there’s nothing on the ceiling..."

Yu Sheng reached out and picked up Irene’s frame from the floor—and winced in pain because of his back.

"I'm taking you to the living room, so stop yapping," he said casually.

Irene immediately cheered up, sat back in her chair while hugging the toy bear, and watched as Yu Sheng dragged her frame toward the exit. "That's good, you're actually a pretty nice person. Oh, right, is it dinner time now? What are we having tonight?"

Yu Sheng looked down. "Can you eat?"

"I can watch!"

Yu Sheng felt like he must be sick to keep dealing with this thing.

Holding his back, he trudged along, carrying Irene’s frame with difficulty as he walked toward the stairs leading to the living room. The trash talk coming from the oil painting never stopped—

"Hey, your house is pretty big. I didn't realize there was such a big area outside that room?"

"What's the room across the hall? Your bedroom? Hey, is there anyone else here?"

"Should I say hello to others? Will they be scared? Ordinary people don't seem to have seen talking dolls and oil paintings much, right..."

"Right, I haven't asked your name yet! What's your name? Yusheng? What a strange name... it's not the 'raw fish' you can eat, is it?"

"What's wrong with your back? Your back is already ruined at such a young age? Let me tell you, you have to protect your back. You humans have such troublesome joints, and they can't just be detached... Huh? Why are you glaring at me? Your look is pretty scary..."

Yu Sheng finally reached the stairs, holding his back with difficulty, and looked down at the steps. He hadn't noticed it before, but today, after throwing out his back and carrying an exceptionally heavy oil painting frame, the stairs looked particularly steep.

He had originally intended to carry Irene’s frame downstairs with both hands, but now he suddenly realized his physical state didn't seem to allow for that.

Yu Sheng lowered his head and pondered silently.

The noisy girl in the painting seemed to sense something; her voice gradually stopped, and her expression grew tense.

Yu Sheng lowered his eyelids and glanced at the girl in the painting who had been yapping the entire way, with topics that were becoming increasingly punchable: "Irene."

The girl in the painting jumped. "Ye... yes?"

"I feel like your frame is quite sturdy."

"I... is it?"

Yu Sheng silently placed Irene’s frame at the top of the stairs.

"It might be a bit bumpy, sit tight."

Irene finally realized what was happening, her eyes widening in an instant. "Hey, wait—"

"Off you go!"

The oil painting frame began its ping-pong-clatter adventure down the stairs.

Accompanied by Irene’s enthusiastic gratitude all the way down: "Yu Sheng, you son of a b— ahhh wahhh ahhh wahhh ohhh ahhh *&%￥#*——"