Chapter 653: Line of Sight

Chapter 653: The Gaze

After driving Sun Xiaoqin away, Li Huowang found himself alone in his disheveled bedroom. He exhaled deeply and sat down on a stool.

He flipped through the calendar, his eyes landing on Yang Na's birthday—only a few days remained.

Li Huowang silently calculated in his mind: On her birthday, besides surprising her with a hospital discharge, what gift would he give Yang Na?

"Wait a minute. Just how many points do I need to get into Yang Na’s university?"

With a light touch on the screen, Li Huowang instantly saw a figure that made him gasp in shock.

But soon, gritting his teeth, his gaze hardened.

"I’ll give it my all. Since I promised Yang Na, I must fulfill it. I’ve gone through everything; can’t I fear this?"

Without delay, Li Huowang pulled out his phone and searched for study materials, diving into them with full concentration.

Creak—Li Huowang’s bedroom door slowly opened.

Seeing Sun Xiaoqin in her pajamas looking at her phone with her head down, she nodded in satisfaction and quietly retreated.

"Mm, playing with phones is good. Young people should play with phones."

Time passed slowly. The residential complex gradually quieted down. In the deep night, only the sound of Li Huowang’s fingers rubbing against his temples echoed softly.

At last, around one in the morning, Li Huowang closed his eyes and slumped back in despair, his head buzzing.

"Fine, I was wrong. I really am afraid of this. Why is it so profound? I studied it in class, didn’t I? Why can’t I understand?"

Some things cannot be conquered merely by willpower or effort. If you don’t understand, you simply don’t understand. This stuff truly cannot be self-taught.

Li Huowang realized he needed systematic learning. Studying randomly at home would never get him admitted to the same university as Yang Na.

"What now? I have to find a way. Even if I fall behind Yang Na by a year or two, at least I must catch up by her fourth year."

Closing his eyes, Li Huowang thought, suddenly feeling something in his pocket—a piece of paper money—and an idea struck him.

"Could I use this money to buy online courses? Or some kind of training?"

"Oh right, there’s also the red envelope Mom gave to Yi Dong. Combined, that should be enough."

Thinking this, Li Huowang acted immediately, ignoring the fatigue of one o’clock in the morning, and began searching again.

While Li Huowang was still planning his college entrance exam strategy, he suddenly sensed something. His brow furrowed sharply.

"Are you kidding me? The neighborhood committee ladies are still working this late? They’re too dedicated."

Li Huowang reached out and pulled aside a corner of the curtain to look outside—but no one was there.

"Am I just too tired?" Li Huowang pondered and lay down on the bed.

He closed his eyes, forcing himself to sleep, trying to forget that strange sensation, hoping that rest might make it disappear.

But tossing and turning, that feeling of being watched kept him wide awake.

At that moment, he finally understood what it meant to feel like a spine pierced by thorns—he hadn’t imagined it. Something was definitely watching him.

“I want to see what it is!” Li Huowang suddenly sat up from the bed.

He lifted the starry curtain once more, carefully scanning the dark residential area.

It was pitch black outside. Finding someone hiding in the shadows was extremely difficult.

After standing there for over half an hour, Li Huowang, guided by that gaze, finally identified who was watching him.

The person stood in a dark corner, motionless like a wooden post.

In a daze, Li Huowang felt the figure seemed tall and thin.

Shaking his head hard, the shadowy figure appeared to change shape.

It was too dark. Li Huowang thought he had been mistaken.

“Could it be…” He recalled the nonsense that Qian Fu had said to him earlier.

“No way. How could I think of that guy? Am I going crazy?”

Regardless of what that thing was, Li Huowang decided he had to see it with his own eyes. After all, whatever was lurking in the darkness couldn't possibly be the neighborhood committee’s Aunt Qi.

Li Huowang quickly placed a pillow on the stool, adding other items to make its reflection on the window look more human.

He did this to avoid alarming the intruder. Then, lying flat on the ground, he slowly left the room and opened the security door.

To avoid making noise, he didn’t even put on shoes. He descended the fire escape quietly, using the greenery for cover, slowly approaching the spot.

As Li Huowang drew closer, the figure began to take shape.

"Huowang!!" A shout from within the residential complex made Li Huowang instinctively lift his head.

Sun Xiaoqin, dressed in pajamas, stuck her head out of his bedroom window, looking around anxiously.

When Li Huowang looked back at where he had seen the figure, he found the outline had vanished. It was still pitch black, but nothing remained.

"Did it run away? Where did it go?" Li Huowang frantically searched.

"Son! Where are you?! Don’t scare me like that!" Sun Xiaoqin stretched most of her body out of the window, peering around the residential area.

Hearing her worried voice and seeing the windows gradually light up, Li Huowang reluctantly stepped forward.

"Mom, I’m here! Nothing’s wrong. Something fell down, I went to pick it up."

"Why are you picking something up at this time of night? Can’t you wait till tomorrow? Come back up!"

Li Huowang glanced once more at the darkness before turning around and heading upstairs.

For the rest of the night, Li Huowang lay in bed with his eyes open until dawn.

Over breakfast, Li Huowang’s mind still dwelled on what had happened the night before.

Firstly, it was certain that, regardless of intent, whatever it was, it was watching him—it existed.

The gaze he had sensed earlier likely accounted for only half of it—the rest belonged to that unseen presence.

"But why would it be watching me?" Li Huowang couldn’t fathom. There was nothing valuable about him.

Hiring someone specifically to watch him required a lot of money.

"Son, what’s wrong with you? Have you developed a fondness for daydreaming?" Sun Xiaoqin held a plate, wiping the table with a cloth in quick motions.

"Why aren’t you playing games anymore? Go play. I’ve turned on your computer for you."

"Mom, I don’t want to play games." Li Huowang rubbed his forehead, feeling a headache coming on. He couldn’t tell his mother about this; she’d probably think he was having another episode.

"Nonsense! At your age, how could you not want to play games? Hurry up and go play. Don’t act like an old man. I’ll cut you a fruit platter later. What fruits do you want?"

Li Huowang sighed, stood up, and returned to his bedroom.

(End of Chapter)