How to Stop the Villain from Going Crazy
Translator: Fuyu
Chapter 60 - Fear can stimulate people's most primitive urges such as appetite, survival, and… (2)
"In my preliminary plan, the audience will play the role of Marbella. They'll escape from Trique and Boyd and face their inner demon - played by Marbella - to escape from the place for good. Through this process, they'll not only experience the excitement brought by fear, but also the feeling of triumph and joy from escaping… They'll never experience these feelings just by watching a freak show."
Bo Li firmly said, "I'm confident that once they play through it once, they'll want to play it again, just to experience again and again the excitement that fear brings…"
"But," she turned her head to look at him, "I only conceived this idea because of you... Only you can realize such a complex idea. Without you, these are just empty words."
Erik seemed lost in thought.
Bo Li was apprehensive. She was afraid that he would mention a house of mirrors again and also afraid what happened just now would affect his attitude towards her.
After an unknown amount of time passed, she finally heard his voice in her ears.
"I'll help you achieve it."
Bo Li's heart skipped a beat.
"Your idea…" He paused for a moment, as if he was deliberating over his word choice," is perfect."
She felt a secret throbbing coming from her heart. It was as if her senses had rusted over. She couldn't tell whether she was feeling relief at escaping from disaster, joy from being recognized by a genius, or simply - her heart was moved.
Was this attraction real or was she infatuated by the sensations that came with fear?
When people were frightened, their fight or flight instinct was triggered. As adrenaline surged through their bodies, their hearts sped up, their pupils dilated, and their breathing quickened. It wasn't that much different from attraction.
Bo Li stared at Erik without blinking. She stopped avoiding his masculine features. She forced herself to carefully look him over without missing any details.
His cold, chiseled jawline was actually very attractive. His Adam's apple was prominent. The contour of his fingers and wrists were forceful and smooth. There was an indescribable artistic beauty to them.
Apart from his face, he was flawless.
It felt like she was falling under the influence of hypnosis again. Step by step, she approached him. It almost felt like she couldn't control herself.
However, her mind couldn't be clearer.
She calmly thought; would her heart still be pounding if she saw his face? Would she have the courage to enamor fear?
At this time, he lowered his head and looked downwards.
Their eyes met for a moment.
She thought his eyes were beautiful - cold, mysterious, and with the color of a predator's pupils. It felt like his eyes contained an unknown intense medicine. She was just looking at his eyes, but she felt her body becoming hot and weak.
"This idea is my biggest secret," she said.
This was the truth. She shared her thoughts without reservation.
He was so smart. He could easily figure out that she wasn't Polly Clermont.
Exchanging secrets would bring about intimacy.
She was so ordinary. In the face of his genius mind, this secret wasn't worth mentioning, but she still wanted to get something out of it.
"So“, can I…" she inexplicably felt out breath, "see your face?"
The mood stiffened, and the subtle romantic feeling vanished.
He grabbed her cheek, leaned over, and stared at her. "Why do you want to see my face?"
This was his first time directly answering this question. Bo Li paused in surprise for a moment before saying, "I want to understand you more. I promise I won't-"
He coldly interrupted her, "I'm not Oliver Thorne. Those words you said to him, they won't work on me."
Bo Li was at a loss for words.
There was something wrong. How did he know what she was going to say? How did he know she had said these words to Thorne too?
"I hope this is the last time you ask me this question." He loomed over her and said in a terrifyingly cold voice, "If you ask me again, I'll kill you."
Was she insane? She didn't believe that he would go through with his threat.
In the past, every time he threatened her, he would use his dagger to scare her or choke her until her bones sounded like they were going to break. Moreover, during that process, he wouldn't speak. She had to rack her brains and fervently beg in order to survive.
This time, he just held her cheek… and said so many words. It felt like he was bluffing.
Had she gone crazy, or was this really the case?
For a moment, Bo Li couldn't tell what she was thinking or feeling. Was it attraction, fear, or curiosity about the unknown?
She raised her hand and covered his hand.
He was wearing black gloves. The leather felt cold.
He abruptly let go of her cheek and jerked away from her.
Bo Li felt that she could take a step forward. "How are you going to kill me?"
He coldly looked at her. He was breathing heavily, and his body was stiff as if he was the one being threatened.
"With a dagger, a rope, or a revolver?" She blinked. "Or… with your hands?"
He didn't speak and looked at her with a scary gaze as if he wanted to push her away with his gaze.
"If I can choose, I hope you use your hands. Your hands look so good-" As Bo Li said, she felt a bit perverse, but wasn't he even worse than her?
He stalked her, spied on her, hypnotized her, broke into her room at night, and measured her feet. He even got her body measurements from somewhere.
She was just giving him a taste of his own medicine, and he looked at her like he was enduring persecution.
Who was persecuting whom?
She used to be a positive, cheerful woman. She didn't drink or smoke. Her favorite hobby was staying at home to play games and watching horror movies while eating.
He was the one that turned her enjoyment of horror into something else. He forced her to become addicted to adrenaline rushes. He led her into this abnormal relationship.
She was the victim.
What right did he have to look at her like that?
They had unwittingly changed their roles of predator and prey.
He tilted his head. His jaw was extremely tense as if he didn't want to meet her eyes. A thick blue vein popped up on his neck.
Bo Li felt that if she got closer, he would give up resisting and surrender.
However, he suddenly grabbed her hair and pulled her away from him. He coldly asked, "Do you think I won't kill you?"
He had grabbed her hair more than once. In the past, she would freeze in fright and break out in cold sweat. And now, she discovered that the sensation of having her scalp pulled tight could also make her heart flutter just like that day when she cut his hair.
He seemed to have thought of something too. His arm stiffened a bit, and he gulped. He immediately released her hair.
Just as Bo Li was about to take advantage of the momentum to go further, the room plunged into darkness. Erik somehow extinguished the candle in the bedroom.
By the time she found a match and lit the candle in the dark, he had disappeared without a trace.
Bo Li began to reflect on herself. Did she go too far? What would she do if he got angry and refused to help her with the haunted house?