CHAPTER 1781: CHAPTER 1775: CANDY AND MONEY

Everything in front of him quickly plunged into darkness, and in the next moment, Tang Ye felt his consciousness become exceptionally drowsy, only to jolt violently the next second!

He transitioned directly from a state of just falling asleep to just waking up!

The indescribably intense drowsiness swallowed him whole, making it impossible for him to open his eyes. Yet, he could feel weak sunlight shining on him, somewhat warm, but it also made his body feel more fatigued!

Tang Ye kept his eyes closed and refused to open them for a long time, unable to resist such drowsiness. He knew very well that this was not okay, but the desire to sleep was so strong it surpassed his aversion to death!

He didn’t care what he would eventually become; he just wanted to surrender to the drowsiness and sleep soundly, even if, as Lu Xiaojie said, he would never wake up and be trapped in this illusion forever!

Just like that, Tang Ye didn’t know how long he lay in bed, but eventually realized that despite the drowsiness, he couldn’t fall asleep. Before long, he cursed loudly, "Damn it!" Then, fighting the drowsiness, he forced his eyes open!

He glanced at the dusk outside, clenched his fist but quickly relaxed it, and forced himself up from the bed. His head felt so dull that he started losing direction.

"Damn!" He cursed again; this drowsiness was terrifying. He couldn’t have imagined such a level of drowsiness before—it was as if it transcended dimensions!

Taking a breath, Tang Ye stumbled downstairs, and midway, he forcefully squeezed a large chunk out of the wall’s corner by the staircase. But he didn’t care; he made his way to the first-floor shop, ran to the counter, crouched down, and rummaged through until he finally found a pack of cigarettes inside. Tearing open the package roughly, he placed a random cigarette in his mouth and then desperately searched for a lighter, knocking over several shelves in the process. Fortunately, he eventually found what he was looking for, and without a word, quickly lit the cigarette. Tang Ye took a deep drag and collapsed into a chair behind the counter.

But in such a drowsy state, it was difficult for him to control his strength, and sitting down, the chair was flattened instantly!

"Damn it! Shit!" He cursed, annoyed, but couldn’t be bothered. Taking another drag, the nicotine seemed to relieve the drowsiness a bit, but the effect was minimal. After finishing one cigarette, the drowsiness still clung persistently.

He also wanted to sleep, but simply couldn’t fall asleep. Perhaps he had to take that bottle of pills to truly enter the "dreamland." Otherwise, sleep wouldn’t come.

Slumped in the now collapsed chair, leaning against the back cabinet, he discarded the cigarette butt. Only two thoughts lingered in his mind: to die quickly and escape this damned drowsiness, or to take the pills and enter the "dream" to find Lu Xiaojie, also to escape the drowsiness!

With these thoughts, Tang Ye struggled to rise from the flattened chair, ready to head upstairs to grab the pills when, turning his head, he saw Dairya standing outside the shop watching him.

"You..." Tang Ye froze for a moment, temporarily dismissing his thoughts, and fighting the drowsiness, walked to the shop door, opened it, and looked down at Dairya.

"Mr. Pillay..." Dairya looked at him and called out softly. Her voice was tiny, so low it could easily go unheard.

Tang Ye, tortured by drowsiness, could only rub his eyelids vigorously and gaze at the distant sky. The street was cast in an evening hue, signaling it might be around six in the evening since the clouds were to the west, indicating it was unlikely to be morning!

Shaking his head, Tang Ye finally focused his attention on the little Dairya below.

"I’m sorry, I broke my promise." He looked into her eyes, seeing tears. She had cried, but he didn’t know the reason for her tears.

Dairya didn’t respond right away; she just looked up, meeting Tang Ye’s gaze. After a while, she wiped her tears and said, somewhat choked, "Mr. Pillay... are you sick?"

"Huh? Do I look that bad?"

Dairya didn’t speak, but her silence confirmed that Tang Ye indeed looked quite unwell.

Pressing his lips together, he forced himself to keep his eyes open, trying to appear more normal. He blinked, but the action only intensified the drowsiness, so he quickly stopped.

He looked at her, attempting to find something to talk about, and said, "Did you just get out of school?"

"No, I finished school a long time ago and was waiting here for you."

"Ah... I see..." Tang Ye sighed softly. Dairya’s words seemed to suggest he’d been asleep for two days.

He pondered how time didn’t pass so slowly in the "dream"; at most, it seemed like three hours, yet it seemed time in the "dream" wasn’t parallel to "reality." Every time he killed an animal, the "real" world sped forward about twelve hours.

After another sigh, Tang Ye asked, "It should be dinner time now. Shall we..."

Before finishing the sentence, Dairya suddenly interrupted, shaking her head and saying urgently, "No, Mr. Pillay, I’m not hungry!"

"Alright... okay..." Seeing Dairya’s firm refusal, Tang Ye quickly dismissed the idea of inviting her to a meal, realizing he wasn’t in the mood himself. He could only say, "It’s not too late now... I think you could read for a while..."

As his voice fell, Dairya shook her head again, refusing: "No!" She anxiously reached into her pocket, seemingly searching for something. Her pocket was filled with various items—chestnuts picked from who knows where, a few scattered candies, and a pencil that had been written down to a few centimeters. Finally, she pulled out a neatly folded tissue, and when she opened it, there were a few banknotes inside, not of large denomination.

She then put everything else back into her pocket, leaving only the candies and banknotes, which she offered to Tang Ye with both hands.

"This is..." Tang Ye looked at her actions, puzzled.

"Mr. Pillay, take the candies... this money was originally saved for buying books, but... I think you should focus more on your health now!"

"You... haha~" Hearing her sincere but endearingly childish words, Tang Ye couldn’t help but laugh, yet he felt a warmth in his heart.

"Alright, child, Mr. Pillay doesn’t lack money. You should keep this money for yourself. As for the candies, I’ll gladly accept them, okay?"

"No! You must take these!"