Chapter 6: The First Step of Friendly Exchange

The girl in the painting, who claimed to be "Eileen," stared down Yu Sheng outside the frame, the two of them locked in a standoff with not a shred of trust established between them so far.

Yu Sheng had no way whatsoever to confirm whether the words spoken by this "person in the painting," who seemed like some sort of cursed object, were true or false; including her mention of something called Alice's Cottage and the claim of being sealed into the painting, he had heard of them for the first time—thus, when Eileen said she didn't know why she appeared in this house, he didn't dare believe a single word of it.

On the other hand, Eileen felt that this human named Yu Sheng was definitely still holding back a lighter to set her on fire, and her gaze kept watching the movements of that lighter...

"I think you definitely bought the painting yourself and hung it in your home, then turned around and forgot..." Eileen repeated again, "Isn't it common for you humans to see something rare and want to collect it, then buy it and let it gather dust at home..."

Hearing the other party say this, Yu Sheng actually felt a bit insecure in his heart, because he really couldn't be sure of the origins of everything in this house—after all, he had only truly arrived "here" for two months; let alone being unfamiliar with this world, he wasn't even familiar with himself; who knew what state the house and its owner were in before two months ago?

Could it have been another "Yu Sheng"?

However, these thoughts only flashed through his mind for an instant; facing the gaze of the person in the painting's scarlet eyes, Yu Sheng subconsciously shook his head and replied, "That's definitely impossible—your painting looks very expensive, not something I could afford..."

"Hey, what if it's very cheap!" Eileen hugged the teddy bear and shuffled forward, "These days there are plenty of fake bottles, fake fans, and fake calligraphy; maybe I was wholesale-bought by the previous seller from some fake antique dealer for two and a half yuan per jin along with other paintings, or maybe the middleman didn't recognize the value..."

Yu Sheng's expression was strange: "That frame you're holding is solid old wood, with gold wire inlaid along the edges..."

Eileen thought for a moment: "Veneer of redwood filled with resin! And the iron wire plated with copper on the outside."

Yu Sheng: "... Then the cost is already more than two and a half yuan per jin."

"Four and a half is fine, can't go higher; if it's higher, no one will really buy it."

Yu Sheng: "..."

Eileen stared with her scarlet eyes: "Hey, why aren't you speaking?"

Yu Sheng squatted in front of Eileen's frame, suddenly feeling amused, and then really laughed out loud; he sat back on the ground with a thud, and as he laughed, he looked up at the ceiling, laughing until half his body leaned back—he had never in his life imagined experiencing such a scene, squatting in an empty room, arguing nonsense with a doll sealed in an oil painting, just to discuss whether the frame sealing the doll was a wholesale fake for two and a half yuan per jin or four or five yuan per jin...

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

These things were all too damn interesting.

But Eileen was frightened by the sudden sound of Yu Sheng laughing, feeling a bit creeped out; she and her frame had been taken down from the wall by Yu Sheng and placed on the floor, so now she could see the bare ceiling and hear the laughter coming from nearby, which made her finally unable to hold back and shout out, "Hey, don't laugh! What's so funny?"

Yu Sheng slowly stopped laughing; he shifted his body forward, looked at Eileen inside the frame, and his expression suddenly became serious again: "Before, when I had that weird dream, did you do it?"

He was referring to the fact that he had previously chopped at a locked door with an axe in the dream, and the strange laughter coming from behind the door; now it seemed that this obviously eerie dream was definitely connected to the girl in the painting before him.

Oh right, he had also twisted his waist in the dream—it still hurt now.

"No!" Eileen immediately shook her head, but then stopped, her expression hesitating for a moment, "Well... not entirely no..."

"What do you mean?" Yu Sheng frowned, "That sentence goes in circles."

"That dream was made by yourself, but I did indeed slip inside," Eileen explained very patiently, "I originally just sensed someone was dreaming and wanted to use this method to find someone to help; I didn't mean to do anything bad! I didn't know you couldn't open that door, and that you had such a temper, using an axe to chop the door just because you forgot your keys..."

Listening to Eileen's rambling, Yu Sheng gradually realized: "So, the door wasn't locked by you either? The dream wasn't induced by you? You just have the ability to enter other people's dreams?"

"Yes—actually, I know even more!" Eileen nodded, her face filled with pride, but soon this pride faded, "But now that I'm sealed in the painting, I almost only have this ability left..."

Yu Sheng was half-skeptical of Eileen's claim, while also having more doubts and thoughts about the things he experienced in that weird dream; immediately after, he had a second question: "You said you wanted to find someone to help through the dream? Help with what?"

"Naturally, to help me get out!" Eileen looked as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "Getting out of this painting would be better; if not, at least get me out of this room; it's empty with nothing here; if only there was a TV hanging on the opposite wall... voice-controlled would be even better; using a remote control isn't very convenient for me; there's a brand that's quite good..."

Yu Sheng discovered that this girl in the painting belonged to the typical free-associative personality type; as long as no one controlled her and let her talk to herself, her train of thought would always diverge to places you wouldn't expect—and usually in the direction of getting carried away.

So he interrupted the other party without hesitation: "Then why did you laugh mockingly when looking for someone to help? What was that mocking sound from inside when I was 'opening the door' outside?"

"That wasn't me!" Eileen hurriedly waved her hands, then held up the brown teddy bear in her hand forward, "It was laughing!"

Yu Sheng didn't speak either, just looked on with a blank expression, his eyes full of the meaning "Are you taking me for a fool?"

"Really!" Eileen looked a bit anxious, shaking the toy bear in her hand vigorously, "It was sealed into this painting together with me, but maybe because it's been too long, its brain isn't very sharp anymore; now it's just left with silly laughter; usually if you poke it, it will laugh strangely, but sometimes even if you don't poke it, it will suddenly laugh on its own; I often get scared by it..."

Yu Sheng listened to Eileen's enthusiastic explanation with a tense face; after noticing the serious look on the girl in the painting's face, he gradually became half-skeptical too; his gaze finally fell on the teddy bear, and after hesitating for a moment, he nodded: "Then make it laugh once; let me hear if it is."

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

The toy bear showed no reaction.

Eileen was stunned for a moment, then poked the toy bear's head hard again—still no sound was made; she herself looked like she was about to cry. "It... sometimes happens like this," the girl in the painting said with a tearful face, "I poke it and it doesn't laugh..."

Yu Sheng's mouth twitched.

"So, sometimes if you don't poke it, it laughs; sometimes if you do poke it, it doesn't laugh; in short, whether you poke it or not, it might laugh or might not—" he analyzed a string of words like a tongue twister, and drew a conclusion, "So does this bear laughing or not have anything to do with whether you poke it or not?"

Eileen was stunned for a moment, then nodded slowly: "Yes... yes, oh."

Yu Sheng didn't really want to continue dealing with this "cursed oil painting" whose brain seemed a bit abnormal.

And he had already stopped caring about that mocking sound he heard in the dream before.

A rumbling sound came from his stomach; the dinner he missed by falling asleep immediately after arriving home began to show its presence now; Yu Sheng smiled and shook his head, slowly getting up.

"Hey, you're leaving?" Eileen saw this, and her voice immediately became a bit panicked, "You don't plan to leave me on the floor like this, do you? At least hang me back on the wall; there's wallpaper on the other side of the wall to look at; there's nothing on the ceiling..."

Yu Sheng reached out and lifted Eileen's frame from the ground—then grimaced in pain because of his sore waist.

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

Eileen immediately became happy, hugged the teddy bear, and sat back on her chair, watching Yu Sheng drag her frame out: "That's good; you're actually quite nice; oh right, is it mealtime now? What are we eating tonight?"

!.

Yu Sheng looked down: "Can you eat?"

"I can watch!"

Yu Sheng thought he must be sick to continue dealing with this guy.

Holding his waist, he carried Eileen's frame with some difficulty, slowly walking towards the stairs leading to the living room; the trash talk coming from inside the oil painting in between didn't stop—

"Hey, your house is quite big; there's such a big area outside that original room?"

"What's the room opposite? Your bedroom? Hey, are there other people here?"

"Do I need to greet others? Will they be scared? Ordinary people probably haven't seen a talking doll and an oil painting much..."

"By the way, I haven't asked your name yet! What's your name? Yu Sheng? What a strange name... not the edible 'yu sheng' (raw fish)?"

"What's wrong with your waist? Your waist is ruined at such a young age? Let me tell you, you need to protect your waist; your human joints are troublesome, and you can't just disassemble them... Eh? Why are you glaring at me? Your eyes are quite scary..."

Yu Sheng finally struggled to the stairs, holding his waist, and looked down at the steps below—he didn't usually feel this way, but today, after twisting his waist and carrying an especially heavy oil painting frame, those steps seemed particularly steep to him.

He originally intended to hold Eileen's frame with both hands and go downstairs, but now he suddenly discovered that his physical condition didn't seem to allow him to do so.

Yu Sheng lowered his head, thinking silently.

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

Yu Sheng lowered his eyelids, glanced at a certain girl in the painting who had been chattering nonstop the entire way, with her topic becoming increasingly provoking: "Eileen."

The girl in the painting jolted: "Eh... eh?"

"I feel your picture frame is quite sturdy."

"I... is that so?"

Yu Sheng silently placed Eileen's picture frame at the start of the staircase steps.

"It might shake a bit; hold on tight."

Eileen finally reacted, her eyes instantly widening to their limit: "Hey, wait—"

"Here we go!"

The oil painting frame embarked on a clattering, banging great adventure down the stairs.

Accompanying it all the way was Eileen's enthusiastic gratitude: "Yu Sheng, you damn— I... ah ah ah wa ah ah wa ah oh oh ah *&%￥#*—"

(End of this chapter)