How to Stop the Villain from Going Crazy
Translator: Fuyu
Chapter 35 - If it wasn't for the fact… she would think they were going on dates (1)
It had become increasingly difficult to guess Erik's thoughts. Once he started talking, her previous coping strategies became useless.
Now, she had to cautiously observe his gaze, tone, and movement, and think hard on every question he asked and his intent behind them. Otherwise, if she answered his question wrong, it would be game over for her.
When Bo Li woke up today, she found a dress on the bed.
It was a new, pale blue silk dress. Its collar, cuffs, and hem were trimmed with ruffled lace. A creamy white ribbon-like sash was tied around the waist. Next to the dress, there was a petticoat with many layers and a bustle.
There was a postcard resting on the dress. The back of the postcard had a pencil sketch of a theater, and the front of the card had two words written in a cold, beautiful handwriting in dark red ink: "Wear it".
Using her years of experience in playing puzzle games, Bo Li understood his meaning. He wanted to wear the dress and go to the theater.
As if it was tailor-made for her, the dress fit her chest, waist, arms, and legs perfectly.
Bo Li didn't know when he got her measurements.
At the hotel entrance, there was a carriage waiting for her. It was very foggy today, and the coachman had to hold up a lantern to clearly see her face.
"Are you Miss Clermont? I've been waiting for you for a long time. Come, let's go to the theater."
Bo Li lifted the hem of her dress and apprehensively boarded the carriage.
She didn't know why Erik had gone through so much trouble.
Surely, he wasn't planning on going down the same route as the original work by hypnotizing her and training her to be a soprano, right?
Bo Li knew her limitations. She could act in musicals, but she couldn't sing opera. They were completely different from pop songs.
Anyone that had read any version of The Phantom of the Opera knew how much Erik hated people with undeserved fame.
If he found out that she couldn't be trained to his standards, would he slaughter her like she was livestock?
Bo Li started sweating profusely.
Fortunately, he didn't send her to the theater to sing opera.
She had gone to this theater with Boyd. Same theater, same show, same private box.
Erik didn't appear while she was waiting for the show to start, but she could feel him watching her.
He had always been like this, never appearing in person.
Bo Li really wanted to tell that his body proportions were very good, almost on the verge of superiority, especially the rare length of his fingers
There was a piano in the hotel lobby. When his thumb and pinky were fully extended, he could easily touch 12 keys and even 13th keys.
The average person's hand could only span 8 keys, enough to reach a full octave. People who had hands that could span 10 keys were already considered winning the genetic lottery for playing piano.
And yet, he felt extremely ashamed of his face, hands, neck, and even his voice. He wouldn't let her look at his bare skin, nor was she allowed to praise his voice.
Bo Li was very confused about that. She could understand his feelings towards his face, but why did he feel that way about his voice?
"Why are we here?" She looked around and tried to come up with a topic. "It's so stuffy."
Theaters at this time had limited ventilation. She really was afraid of suffocating.
No response. It was as if Erik wasn't in the private box.
The lights in the theaters dimmed and only small flames were left to illuminate the aisles. A spotlight shone on the velvet curtain, and the curtain slowly rose.
A girl dressed as a boy appeared.
She wore a skewed black top hat, a black swallow-tailed coat, and a white shirt underneath. She sang a cheerful popular song. The name of the song was Nelly Bly. She was only accompanied by a banjo.
Bo Li had been busy dealing with Boyd last time, so she didn't pay attention to the singer last time. After listening to it again, she discovered that it was a lively minstrel song.
The melody was simple and rhythmic, so she hummed along after listening to two verses.
The next moment, a low, cold voice sounded behind her.
"You like it?”
The hair on her back immediately stood up. Her heart almost jumped out of her throat. "Umm, it's alright. It sounds pretty good."
"Why?"
Bo Li thought; what was this? A teacher calling on a student to answer questions?
She wasn't a music major. Fortunately, she had received systematic training before performing in musicals and had some basic music knowledge.
"Umm, because the melodies are repeated, so it's easy to sing along?" She couldn't guess what his attitude towards the song was, so she quickly added, "Of course, I can also appreciate elegant opera, such as the aria sung by the Queen of the Night in the The Magic Flute!"
That was the only opera song on her playlist. The singer's voice was as sharp and clear as a piccolo. Hearing those high notes were particularly invigorating. When she listened to that aria while riding a bike, she felt like she could generate sparks from the wheels.
Erik didn't comment. Her answer seemed sufficient to pass.
After the performance was over, she no longer felt Erik's gaze on her.
It seemed as if he prepared a dress, a sash, a petticoat, and a bustle just for her to come to watch this performance again and hear her comment on this simple ballad.
—
After that day, Erik seemed addicted to this new way of playing. A new dress would appear on her bedside every day.
From beginning to end, Bo Li didn't know why he was doing this.
Test her musicality? Cultivate her aesthetic taste for women's clothing? Train her to dress faster?
His ambiguous attitude made her heart beat abnormally fiercely every day. She was full of the fear of the unknown.
A palpitating heart, an extremely finely woven delicate silk dress, and a cramped and stuffy private box.
If it wasn't for the fact that he never appeared in front of her, that she would break out in a cold sweat when she heard his voice, and she lived in trepidation that she wouldn't be able to answer his question satisfactorily each time, she would think they were going on dates.
T/N: Extra part to thank Cleclerc for their review.