Lian was absolutely depressed.
Food. Just that one word was enough to pull at him right now, which honestly said a lot about how desperate his situation had become. Lian gently rubbed his empty stomach again. It had already started sinking in after just a day without proper food. For a god who had always lived in comfort and luxury, this kind of hunger felt almost unreal… and humiliating in a strange way.
He glanced at the human walking beside him, who was still grumbling under his breath. At least he's kind enough to pay me back for the mistake he made. He'll probably get good luck for helping a god anyway. Lian thought this while lightly skipping to keep up behind him, his mood slightly improving just at the idea of food being near.
They came to a stop in front of a grilled meat shop. The smell hit him instantly—smoky, rich, and warm. It was enough to make his thoughts go blank for a second. Without even thinking properly, he moved ahead and stepped inside.
Before the human could react, Lian had already sat down at one of the seats and patted the empty chair beside him happily. "Here, come here."
The human sighed deeply but still sat down next to him.
A waiter soon came over to take their order.
"One order of meat skewers and vegetable soup, please," the human ordered.
Meat! I get to eat meat tonight. Oh lord, today might actually be a lucky day. Lian was already celebrating in his head when the food arrived.
The skewers sizzled as they were placed on the table. The smell was even stronger up close, making it hard for Lian to wait. But just as he reached out, he noticed something odd.
The human pulled the meat dish closer to himself and slid the vegetable soup toward him instead.
Lian blinked. "Huh… what is this?" He pointed directly at the steaming meat skewers. "Isn't that for me?"
The human looked at him like it was obvious. "What? No. That soup is for you. You said you didn't eat anything for a day, right? That meat might be too heavy for your stomach. Drink the soup first."
Lian's expression dropped immediately. "No! I want the meat!"
He reached out and grabbed the meat skewers straight out of the human's hands without hesitation.
The human froze, staring at him in complete shock.
He didn't care anymore. He bit into the meat with clear satisfaction, chewing quickly. "Oh lords, this is a delicacy! No wonder humans always gather around these small smoky shops!" he said between bites, clearly impressed, already reaching for another skewer.
Baiju watched him silently as he continued eating without any manners at all, oil already smearing around his mouth and fingers. He hesitated, then slowly handed him a tissue.
Lian pushed it away without even looking and continued eating.
"…Okay." Baiju sighed and began eating the vegetable soup instead, looking mildly defeated.
The man across from him looked quite handsome, but there was definitely something off about him. If he had a normal mind, he could probably make a fortune just with his face alone. Such a waste… Baiju thought.
Just then, Lian suddenly looked up at him again, still chewing, and grinned.
"Say, human… you're actually quite a lucky person, huh?"
"…What?"
"I mean it. You must have had a very lucky life." Lian tilted his head, studying him. "That purple glow around you proves it. You have dragon aura. If this were ancient times, you would've definitely become a king."
He shook his head slightly, almost pitying him.
Baiju frowned immediately. "You can see something around me?"
"Yeah. A purple aura. You literally shine compared to other humans." Lian said it casually, still eating. "That's why I was surprised when I saw you yesterday. It's really rare for a human to have that much luck. Maybe you did some virtuous deeds in your past life that carried over into this one."
He wiped his mouth with his hand, then paused and frowned at the oil sticking to his fingers.
Without a word, Baiju silently handed him another tissue. This time Lian accepted it.
Baiju stared at him for a moment. So… is this guy crazy… or… is he like me?
He quickly shook the thought away. No. He's just straight-up crazy. Why am I even thinking about this seriously.
After the strange dinner, Baiju paid the bill and stood up. Lian followed behind, still looking very satisfied, occasionally rubbing his stomach like he had just survived a great battle.
Sensing that this man might actually follow him further if given the chance, he quickened his pace and, without saying a word, slipped away into the crowd.
Baiju happily ran back to his dorm just before the doors closed and walked up to his room. 'Today was such a tiring day. At least now I don't have to worry about having some strange device.' Thinking about the positives, he entered the room.
"Hey Bai, you're back! Come on, explain this part to me. I don't understand…" his friend Wang whined, holding his book upside down.
Baiju froze. His gaze fell on top of his friend's head.
"What… what are you looking at…" his friend mumbled, scratching his head.
"N-nothing…" He silently closed the door and leaned against it, holding his head in shock.
The golden paper was still there.
It was still there!!!
"So I met this girl, like she is so hot. I was so hesitant man but I went and asked her out and she said yes, can you believe it. She said yes to me. I should be thankful that you weren't with me today because, man, if you were she would have fallen for your charms." Wang continued while eating chips. Pieces of the chips falling onto the open books. The man kept yapping and yapping and yapping.
Baiju just silently nodded occasionally, gazing up at the piece of paper. 'So I really am crazy… fuck!' he screamed in his thoughts, but outside he simply smiled and nodded.
"I'm going on a date after the exams with her to our usual barbecue shop so you better not drop by there okay. I want you out of sight for a while, that is until she falls completely in love with me of course,"
Baiju was finally able to concentrate a bit on what he was saying. "Did you just say you have a date?"
"Yeah, didn't you hear me at all! I have a date with a hot girl!" Wang exclaimed with a bright grin.
It was a shock for sure. He happily patted his back. "Congratulations man, Juni finally accepted you huh?"
"Huh?" his friend gazed at him confused.
"I mean you have a date with Juni right. Where do you plan to take her?"
"No… it's not Juni." Wang's expression shifted slightly and then it became more relaxed. "So this girl was serving my chai latte and I simply asked her out and she said yes. Can you believe it?"
"Wang wait a second, you are not going on a date with Juni? Why? I thought you liked each other. I thought you were going to ask her out?"
Wang looked even more confused. "What do you mean… I don't like Juni, she's not even hot. Why would I date her. So this girl I gave a picture. Do you wanna see?" He showed a picture of a cute girl working as a barista. "Isn't she hot."
Baiju was baffled. His friend Wang had been crushing on Juni openly for a year now! He had done every desperate move to attract her attention and after a while it seemed to work. Juni also showed inkling that she liked him. 'Then why. Why is he asking some other girl out?'
It was very strange.
His friend is always the resolute type. He wouldn't just change his likes and dislikes on a whim.
He could only come to one conclusion.
"Did Juni… reject you?" he whispered hesitantly.
Wang laughed casually. "No, I never asked her out. Why are we even talking about her again?" He swept the chips off his book and started to solve the math problems. "I don't understand this part man. Can you explain?"
"Huh…"
"I said I don't understand this part. Can you explain this?" Wang gazed at him weirdly. "Is everything okay with you?"
"Yeah," he answered instantly. "Everything's fine. Everything… fine." He shook his head to snap himself out of this stupor-like state and helped him solve the math problem.
It was not time to think of useless things. He had a very important exam and if he didn't study, he might lose his scholarship.
The next days, his exams were finally done.
Slinging the bag on his back, he left the classroom in a hurry.
"Hey, Baiju's trying to run away. Catch him," Wang happily shouted. The group of friends happily barricaded his way.
"Where do you think you are running away, buddy?" Wang slung his arm around his slumped shoulders. "We are partying until night, woohoo…"
"I am not in the mood, Wang," Baiju gazed at the ground, trying his best not to look at the top of his friend's head.
"Come on, don't be a party pooper. Five drinks in and your sour mood will improve for sure." He happily dragged him out of the class.
Baiju reluctantly gazed up. The golden paper was still there. Rubbing his tired eyes, he sighed.
Things went down the drain fast. Last night he started having weird dreams. No, it was safe to call them nightmares. It was of his friend dying. Many different ways when he meets this new date of his. It was fucking haunting. He could barely sleep a wink. He did not even want to see Wang's face right now because all he could think of was all the brutal ways he died in his dreams.
Rubbing his aching head, he silently walked behind the chattering gang.
"Wang…" a soft hesitant voice called out from behind.
The group gazed back only to see a hesitant Juni standing there. "Wang, are you free right now. I have something to say to you."
Wang looked indifferently at her. "No, I'm not free."
The group silently gasped hearing this.
After saying so he casually walked away. "Come on guys, let's go partyyy." He dragged them all by their collars.
Nei Bushen nudged Baiju. "Am I imagining things or did Wang just reject Juni?"
"I don't know…" Baiju gazed back at Juni who had tears in her eyes. Their eyes met. She smiled sadly and walked away. "But something is wrong with Wang."
After saying that it all clicked.
For the past week he had been noticing something was off with Wang. It was right after that golden slip of paper appeared on his head. He had completely rejected Juni who he was crazy about and those nightmares.
It was all connected to that golden paper!
His eyes widened. 'What the heck is that and why is it affecting him so much?'
'Then those dreams… are those real too!'