The Madman and The Doll

Chapter 2

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After saying this, Qin Lou finally withdrew his gaze, turned around and went downstairs.

Click, click, click, click…

He seemed to be following some kind of rhythm. In the quiet building, the only sound he could hear was his almost cheerful footsteps on the staircase floor. In tune with that rhythm, the Rubik's Cube in his hand was also spinning rapidly.

The only thing that remained unchanged was the curve of the boy's mouth. He looked carefree and unrestrained, and not serious at all - just like an ordinary playful kid of his age.

But even the servants downstairs who were more than ten or twenty years older than him did not dare to treat him as an ordinary child.

They were silent as a mouse, not saying a word.

Song Shu never empathized with most people.

So among so many people on the first floor, she was the only one who was relaxed.

She knew that the way this young man named Qin Lou looked at her seemed completely different from when he was outside. But she didn't understand why, and she didn't care whether she understood or not.

Song Shu sat back in the corner of the sofa alone.

The servant had brought in her backpack, which contained the sketchbook she always carried with her. Song Shu flipped it out.

A servant looked at her secretly, unable to hide her surprise.

The moment Song Shu opened the sketchbook, Qin Lou stopped in front of Song Ruyu.

“Pah.”

The last layer is turned back and the Rubik's Cube is restored.

Qin Lou glanced at his watch, his tone seemed a little regretful, "One minute and thirty-five seconds. It really is meaningless."

"Cousin, you are so good at playing with the Rubik's Cube..."

Song Ruyu didn't dare to step back. She stood in front of Qin Lou, stammering, trying to suppress her tears and show her support.

"oh?"

Qin Lou slowly threw out such a single byte.

He raised his eyes with a smile, but his gaze was directed to the other corner of the sofa.

This pronunciation is so familiar.

If there were still people who didn't know who the "doll" in Qin Lou's words referred to just now, then at this moment everyone on the first floor knew it.

Song Ruyu trembled even more violently.

"Cousin, I..."

"Hush."

Qin Lou switched the Rubik's Cube to one hand. He pinched the diagonal corners of the Rubik's Cube with his thumb and middle finger as the central axis, and flicked it with his index finger - the Rubik's Cube started to spin rapidly between his two fingers.

Then Qin Lou looked up and smiled.

The Rubik's Cube, which left an afterimage, suddenly stabbed Song Ruyu's eyes.

"Don't!"

"Master Qin Lou!!"

The servants screamed.

The Rubik's Cube stopped suddenly.

An extremely sharp four-sided intersection was right in front of Song Ruyu's eyes.

Only half a centimeter left to penetrate.

After the shock, the room fell into dead silence.

Qin Lou leaned forward and stared at Song Ruyu's pale face at the most intimate distance.

Then he smiled, his pupils gleaming coldly.

"You just said, if 'Doll' moved to my place... what would happen?"

“… … ”

Song Ruyu's lips trembled violently. After stumbling for more than ten seconds, the little girl finally collapsed completely.

She burst into howling tears.

The noise was heart-wrenching.

Among the servants who were busy with their work, Qin Lou stopped without any interest. He took a step back and leaned against the back of the sofa, tilting his head to look at the corner.

The girl lay there drawing, quietly, without expression, without sound, without emotion, without reaction.

It really looks like a human-like doll...

The boy's eyes were filled with more crazy interest.

The riots intensified.

Until Qin Liang and Qin Fujun, father and daughter, who were discussing something on the second floor, came to the quarrel.

Qin Liang was in high spirits, his eyes were dignified, and he went downstairs while frowning and scanning the living room. "What's going on with all the noise? Why is Ruyu crying?"

"… "

The brave servants secretly looked towards Qin Lou, while the timid ones lowered their heads and remained motionless.

Qin Fujun followed her father down. After all, she was her own daughter, and she couldn't bear to hear Song Ruyu crying like this, so she forced a smile.

"Dad, do you even need to ask this? Only Qin Lou can make Ruyu cry like this."

Qin Fujun turned his head and looked forward, "Qin Lou, Ruyu is your cousin after all, you should be more considerate of her, don't always--"

Qin Lou raised his eyes lazily.

"You're preaching to me?"

He twitched the corner of his mouth slightly, turned around while sitting on the armrest of the sofa, and tossed the sharp-edged sixth-order Rubik's Cube with one hand.

After throwing it several times, he suddenly threw the magic direction towards Qin Fujun.

Qin Fujun took two steps back in shock.

Then she stopped and reacted, her eyes looking awkward and gloomy - Qin Lou shook the Rubik's Cube in his hand and smiled at her wantonly.

"Besides being several decades older than me, how can you be worthy of me?"

Qin Fujun's face turned pale.

She clenched her fists and was about to explode, but after freezing for a few seconds, she turned to Qin Liang and said in a wronged voice: "Dad, look at Qin Lou."

Qin Liang looked at Qin Lou disapprovingly, "Be more respectful to your aunt."

"laugh."

Qin Lou turned his head away mockingly.

Song Ruyu was so frightened that she couldn't stop crying even when her grandfather and mother came down. Qin Liang was annoyed by the noise and waved his hand to let the servant take her and Song Shuai, whose eyes were also red with fear, upstairs.

The first floor finally became quiet.

The servants hurried away. In the exposed corner of the sofa, Song Shu's painting was almost finished. From the beginning to the end of this farce, she was the only one who remained silent and motionless.

Qin Liang had met Song Shu more than once and knew her very well. In Qin Liang's view, this little girl and his grandson were two completely opposite extremes - it was because of this that he had decided to arrange for Song Shu to live in Qin Lou's house.

But judging from the commotion just now, Qin Lou's personality is probably not suitable for anyone to interact with...

Qin Liang pondered for a moment and said, "Qin Lou, this is Song Shu, the daughter of your Aunt Bai."

"Song... book." Qin Lou read it slowly, with a smile on his face. "Not bad."

"She will also go to No. 2 Middle School. If you meet her at school, don't bully her."

The Rubik's Cube that Qin Lou was tossing in his hand suddenly stopped.

He turned around, his smile faded, and his brows furrowed, "Isn't the 'doll' going to be sent to me?"

Qin Liang frowned, "How do you talk?"

"Yes or no?"

"I did think so, but you don't like to get along with others, so let her stay in the master's house--"

"Who said I don't like it?"

"… "

Qin Liang was stunned. Qin Fujun, who had an unpleasant expression behind Qin Liang, also looked up at Qin Lou unexpectedly.

The boy jumped down from the armrest of the sofa.

"This year's birthday present," he said with a grin, "I want her."

Qin Liang came back to his senses and looked at Qin Lou suspiciously: "Song Shu is younger than you, how do you call her?"

"She doesn't care."

"… Do you really want to live with her?"

"right."

"Let me tell you this first. If you really dare to bully her, I will break one of your legs on behalf of your Aunt Bai!"

"Send her to me, and I'll let you break two of them."

Qin Lou lowered his eyes and smiled.

After getting the "guarantee", Qin Liang continued to discuss business with Qin Fujun.

After they left, in the corner of the sofa, Song Shu, who had just finished painting, lowered his eyes and put away the scattered pens and sketchbooks.

There was no expression on the delicate face.

Break one or two...

He doesn't care either.

Otherwise he wouldn't have sat on the terrace fence like that.

"You drew my Rubik's Cube?"

A voice suddenly came from above my head.

Song Shu paused and looked down at the half-closed sketchbook. On the newly drawn page inside was indeed the Rubik's Cube that had been broken into pieces outside the building and then pieced back together by her.

The cracks accentuated by pencil shadows are particularly glaring on this piece of paper.

A few seconds later, the gray Rubik's Cube on the paper was blocked by a colorful three-dimensional Rubik's Cube - on Song Shu's sketchbook, the new sixth-order Rubik's Cube was placed down, and the hand with slender knuckles was retracted.

There was a hint of amusement in the voice above her head.

"Why draw it? You're much more interesting than it."

Song Shu finally showed some reaction.

She raised her head and turned her expressionless face towards Qin Lou who was standing beside her.

Meeting her empty eyes, the boy smiled even more wantonly, his eyes becoming a little crazy.

"Didn't you say you were looking forward to it?"

The boy bowed down.

This time, unlike outside the building, he actually leaned over in front of her.

The distance was very close. So close that Song Shu could clearly see his pupils, and the self behind them.

The black flames were about to engulf her.

And the young man laughed wantonly.

"I'm looking forward to it too - how long will it take for me to get tired of my new toy this time?"

Song Shu was silent.

After a few seconds, she lowered her head and put the sketchbook into her backpack, put the pencils into her backpack, and finally, she picked up the Rubik's Cube.

The girl paused for a second without any expression.

"Thanks."

The Rubik's Cube was also put into the backpack.

The girl picked up her backpack and quietly left the living room.

Qin Lou was slightly startled. After a moment, he looked at the slender figure and smiled, his dark eyes full of excitement.

"You're welcome, doll."

Qin Liang was probably too familiar with his grandson's bad character and was not at all reassured by Qin Lou's assurances. After some consideration, he arranged for the two to stay in the host's house for a week.

When the news came out, the servants in the house looked at Song Shu with much more resentment.

Of course, it’s Qin Lou’s credit.

"This is your room for now." The servant led Song Shu into a bedroom in the corner of the second floor. "See if there is anything you are missing. Feel free to tell your aunt."

Song Shu put down his backpack and shook his head.

"Then if you have any problem, just go to the room across the corridor and knock on the door. If your aunt isn't here, you can ask someone else for help. Is that ok?"

"Um."

There was no emotion in the girl's voice.

The servant was a little unhappy, but she didn't show it in her words, "Then you take a rest first... Oh, by the way." When she walked out of the door, she suddenly remembered something and turned back to remind him, "The third floor is the floor where Young Master Qin lives. He doesn't allow anyone in the family to go up there, so it's okay for you to go to other places, but you can't go to the third floor - remember?"

"… "

Song Shu remembered the warning of "breaking your legs and putting you in the swimming pool" he had received outside the building and nodded silently.

The servant leaves.

Song Shu put her backpack on the low cabinet next to the bed and sat down on the bed. The room was well soundproofed, so the world around her was very quiet at this moment, and she could not hear any sound.

The silence made her feel a little dazed.

For the first time, Song Shu discovered that she was not as indifferent to all people, things and circumstances as she thought. It turned out that when she left her home and went to such a completely strange and cold place, she would be as helpless as other children of her age.

It’s just that other children would cry and make a fuss, but she wouldn’t. She was always so quiet that she seemed like she didn’t exist.

So no one saw and no one heard.

The temperature of the central air conditioner made Song Shu feel a little cold. She pulled back the quilt and lay down, then slowly curled herself up.

The room was quiet again for a long time.

A small white hand stretched out from under the quilt, hooked the backpack on the bedside, reached in, and took out a Rubik's Cube.

At dinner time, Song Shu was led out of the room by the servant.

The restaurant is on the first floor. Going down the stairs, you have to pass through the entrance and the living room. When Song Shu went down to the first floor, before he could take his back foot off the wooden stairs, he heard the sound of the door opening from the entrance.

I don't know who said that.

"Mr. Song is back? You must have had a hard time on the journey."

"dad!"

A few meters away in front of Song Shu, Song Ruyu jumped up from the sofa in the living room and ran straight to the entrance.

After the sound of leather shoes stepping on the floor, a figure appeared at the junction of the entrance and the living room - the man opened his arms, bent down and hugged Song Ruyu who rushed over, lifted her into his arms and laughed.

"Hey my dear daughter, how was your day at grandpa's house today? Did you miss your daddy?"

"think… "

"Huh? Why are your eyes so red?" The man stopped laughing and his voice sank. "Did you cry? Did someone bully you?"

"Yes, yes..."

Song Ruyu choked for a long time and didn't dare to say Qin Lou's name. She lay in Song Chengjun's arms aggrievedly. When she turned her head, she happened to see Song Shu standing at the bottom of the stairs.

Tears of anger flashed in Song Ruyu's eyes.

"It's Song Shu! She came to Grandpa's house again today, and she was the one who bullied me!"

The first second he heard the name, Song Chengjun was stunned. Then he frowned and turned to the servant beside him, and asked in a low voice: "Is Song Shu here?"

"Yes, Mr. Song."

"Are you still at home?"

"Mr. Qin arranged for her to live on the second floor. Hey, look at the stairs. She just came down."

"… "

At the servant's reminder, Song Chengjun turned his head and noticed the girl standing quietly at the stairs.

Song Chengjun's brows furrowed even tighter.

"dad!"

Song Ruyu called him aggrievedly.

"Hmm?" Song Chengjun quickly turned his head, lowered his voice and leaned over to comfort the little girl, "Don't cry, my baby. Daddy brought you a gift today. Don't be unhappy about such a small thing, okay?"

"What gift? I have to like it. If I don't like it, you have to buy me a new one!"

"Okay, okay, I'll listen to you, my dear daughter. If you don't like it, I'll buy you a new one..."

The man held the little girl in his arms and walked towards the restaurant while coaxing her.

His back gradually faded away and his voice could no longer be heard.

Song Shu stood in front of the stairs, without movement or sound.

She slowly lowered her eyes only after the figure completely disappeared from her sight.

From beginning to end, the man who was also her father only glanced at her.

Still frowning.

It's like watching something that has been abandoned and then comes back on its own, something boring.

Being hated is a very scary thing for a child.

Because when they are young and immature, they will think that being hated is their own fault.

Obviously not.

Obviously, it’s not.

The Qin family's dining table was usually very quiet. Today, with the addition of an "outsider", the silence became more subtle.

At the long dining table, Qin Liang sat in the main seat, Song Chengjun and Qin Fujun and his wife sat on his right, and in the middle sat Song Ruyu and Song Shuai, brother and sister.

As a guest, Song Shu sat alone on the left.

She had heard from the servants that Young Master Qin Lou didn't like to eat at the same table with others, and his meals were always prepared and delivered to the restaurant on the third floor by a special person.

——How different Qin Lou is in the Qin family is obviously reflected in far more than the difference in the servants’ names.

With Qin Liang around, the dinner was peaceful and calm - no matter how much Song Ruyu wanted to embarrass Song Shu, she didn't dare to act rashly in front of her grandfather.

The whole family swallowed their anger, hiding their disgust or something else, and treated her as air.

After eating a little, Song Shu put down her bowl and chopsticks. She quietly raised her eyes to look at Qin Liang without saying anything. Her emotionless eyes looked very beautiful under the lamp, and her pupils were soft.

Qin Liang looked at her and smiled, "Are you done eating already?"

Song Shu nodded.

"Do you want someone to take you back to your room?"

Song Shu shook his head, got off the chair, turned and walked towards the stairwell.

Looking at her back, Song Ruyu bit the food in her mouth hard and muttered softly: "Not polite at all!"

Qin Liang retracted his gaze and glanced at her.

"Ruyu, how many times have I taught you not to be strict with others and lenient with yourself? Do you really think no one told me about what happened this afternoon?"

Song Ruyu was startled, looked at her parents in panic, and then lowered her head quickly, "I'm sorry, Grandpa... I was wrong."

"If it happens again, I'll have someone send you to live with your cousin for a month."

Song Ruyu's face turned pale with fright.

"Dad..." Qin Fujun quickly spoke up to protect his daughter.

"What do you mean by 'dad'? If Ruyu becomes a domineering person in the future, it will be because you, her mother, spoiled her."

Qin Fujun opened his mouth, but finally held back and held his words back.

She glanced resentfully in the direction of the stairs.

Song Shu lives in a side bedroom on the second floor. There is no separate bathroom in the bedroom, but there are two shared bathrooms on both sides of the second floor.

Dinner time had passed, and hearing the servants outside the door gradually fading away, Song Shu went out to the bathroom near the stairs.

After a while she came out and just as she passed the stairs, she heard two voices approaching from the corner ahead -

"Bai Song already has shares in the company, and now Qin Lou and her daughter are so close, how can I feel at ease?"

"What's the big deal? Just two kids."

"Child? Oh, you didn't see Qin Lou's attitude towards me today!"

"How boring is it to argue with an 11-year-old?"

"You don't understand. I'm not arguing with him! His parents died so early, and he's the only one left in the Qin family. Besides, my father already feels guilty about the death of his son and daughter-in-law... In the future, most of the Qin family's assets will definitely fall into the hands of this little lunatic! He's close to Song Shu now, do you think I can not care?"

The sound is getting closer.

It belongs to Qin Fujun and Song Chengjun.

Song Shu stopped walking on the soft carpet in the corridor and returned to the stairs.

After hesitating for a second between going up and down, Song Shu stepped onto the stairs leading to the third floor, and then walked into the shadow of the middle platform.

Song Shu didn't want to run into them, so he could only wait for them to pass.

The conversation between the two people became clearer.

Then she heard her father's voice.

It was the first time I was so close to her.

"Fujun, don't think too much. I heard from the servants what happened during the day. Qin Lou just treats her as a toy. He will get bored when his interest is gone. Isn't he always like this?"

“But I still feel uneasy.”

"If you're really worried, I'll tell Dad tomorrow that Song Shu doesn't want to live with Qin Lou and let her go to boarding school. Then you won't have to see her again. Is that okay?"

"Dad can believe it?"

"Song Shu is my daughter, why doesn't dad believe me?"

"… You're not saying nice things to coax me, are you? You're right. After all, Song Shu is also your daughter. Who knows if you secretly feel sorry for her?"

"Fujun, we have been married for how many years and you still don't believe me? In my heart, only Ruyu and Xiaoshuai are my children."

"Where's Song Shu?"

"Song Shu? If it weren't for my father's respect for Bai Song, I wouldn't want to see them at all—"

"Bang!"

On the low table on the rest platform, a vase on the corner of the table was knocked down by the girl who unconsciously took a half step back in the shadows, and rolled to the wall.

“Crash.”

The vase broke and shattered all over the floor.

The expressions of the two people who stopped at the stairs changed.

Song Chengjun shouted, "Who!"

"..." Song Shu slowly took a step back in the darkness. She clenched her hands, her fingertips were cold.

Song Chengjun stepped onto the stairs with a grim look on his face, "If you don't come out, I--"

"Bang!!"

From the shadow of the rest platform, another vase suddenly flew out at an angle and smashed heavily into the staircase wall below the rest platform.

Qin Fujun screamed in fright.

Song Chengjun's expression also changed.

Then they heard the boy's perverse laughter coming from the shadows upstairs -

"Get out of here."

"Qin...Qin Lou?"

Qin Fujun's face turned pale instantly. She quickly grabbed Song Chengjun who was about to get angry and left quickly.

The air was dead silent.

The young man pulled open the floor-length curtains on the staircase platform, and moonlight poured down.

Under the moonlight.

His other hand was tightly covering the girl's mouth, holding her down against the coffee table.

After making sure that the person had left, the boy turned back and lowered his gaze. He curled his lips and leaned forward to the girl's eyes in a mocking manner.

"You can't even eavesdrop. Are you a doll made of elm wood?"

“…” Song Shu said nothing.

Qin Lou loosened his hand.

In fact, it made no difference whether he covered her or not, she wouldn't speak or struggle.

The girl was as quiet as when he saw her during the day, and her pupils were just as empty, completely like a doll without any emotions.

But different.

In that hole, there now hides the coldest yet hottest Mars.

It's just that no one lit it.

That is why it burns silently and lonely, without movement, no one noticing, and no eruption.

And he knew where the fuse was.

Qin Lou laughed and lowered his eyes, the unbridled madness in his voice becoming muffled.

"Hey, doll, did your dad throw you away? Like throwing away garbage. He hopes you and your mother die out there, and never let him see you."

"… "

"He's not that annoyed with trash, right? I've seen him treat Song Ruyu very well. Or is it that you're not actually his biological child?"

"… "

"I think it's best to ask your mother about this question. Bai Song, Aunt Bai, right? Let me think about it, I should be able to find someone to get her phone number and see what your mother thinks about this matter."

"… "

"Since you have no objection, I will ask."

Qin Lou stood up and pretended to leave.

Song Shu, who had been mute all this time, suddenly moved. She grabbed his wrist fiercely, pulled it up, and bit it viciously.

"hiss."

Qin Lou gasped in pain.

There was no surprise in those dark eyes, and they were even filled with a smile of triumph.

The smell of blood that rushed into his nose through his mouth immediately brought Song Shu back to his senses.

For the first time, panic appeared in her eyes.

Song Shu subconsciously tried to retreat, but the boy leaned over and pushed her onto the table. She bit his wrist and felt the warm, sweet blood flow into her mouth.

But he didn't care and hugged her cold and trembling body from behind.

He lowered his head in derision.

"Didn't you eat, doll? Can you use some strength?"