The Creatures That We Are

Chapter 582: Don’t Ever Talk About It Again

Rain River didn’t think there was anything wrong with the topic. She put down her teacup and chimed in openly, “Ever since his brother passed away, he treated us even better, taking us out for food and buying us gifts every once in a while.”

Gao Yang didn’t know what to say. He was there when Green Tea’s brother died. He was involved in it, in fact.

“Everyone needs something to hang on.” Sister Ling sighed. “Team Leader lost his family, and now we’re his.”

“Stop, stop! Can’t we talk about something more fun when we’re hanging out?” Old Seven hollered.

First Firelord said, “Yeah, it’s better to talk about where we should go and have fun after the meal!”

“You’re right.”

...

Soon, Green Tea returned with glasses of different colors. As soon as he sat down, he heard Citrus suggest, “Hey, there are nine of us tonight. Why don’t we have a game of Werewolf?”

Green Tea shot Citrus a glare.

Citrus jumped, unsure what she had said wrong.

“Citrus,” Green Tea said coolly and slammed the avocado milk tea on the table before her. “Good idea. Don’t ever talk about it again.”

“But Werewolf is fun.” Citrus wasn’t going to just accept it. She turned to Gao Yang, looking for support. “Brother Yang, you...”

She jumped. What’s going on?! Why does Elder Seven Shadow’s gaze look even more terrifying? What have I said wrong?

“Let’s go singing.” Rain River knew a little about what had happened, and she proposed a safe alternative.

“Sure.” Wang Zikai was the first to agree. He had practiced a few more songs at home recently, and this would be the perfect chance to show it.

None came up with better ideas, and the decision was made.

...

After dinner, they went to a karaoke.

To Gao Yang’s surprise, everyone was quite a good singer.

Some of them were probably born with the talent, while others had become better at it after awakening with the added Charisma, like Gao Yang.

Wang Zikai and First Firelord sang powerfully, and they always picked grand, epic songs with heated, hyper emotions. It felt like they were going to march onto a battlefield to shed blood after every song.

Green Tea and Old Seven were surprisingly hipster, and they went for folk. They sang with their eyes closed on tall chairs, holding the microphones with both hands like professionals.

Citrus and Rain River were the sentimental types. They took off their shoes and sat on the sofa with their legs tucked in and an arm around their knees, holding the microphones with the other hand. And they went for tragic love songs.

Citrus, especially, couldn’t go more than two lines before her eyes turned red, remembering the boyfriend she had lost.

Gao Yang and Sister Ling were there to cheer everyone on and almost never picked any songs, only singing a few lines with others when the microphones were passed to them.

Fresh Snow, on the other hand, followed whatever Gao Yang was singing. There were songs she had never heard, but she insisted on singing with Gao Yang and was completely off tune.

It wasn’t long before Fresh Snow fell asleep, all curled up. Gao Yang picked her up and laid her down on the sofa in the corner, taking off his jacket to cover her. Then he sat down by her side, watching everyone having a great time with a distant look.

Then Green Tea came over to him with a half-empty can of beer.

He glanced at Fresh Snow, who was sound asleep by Gao Yang’s side. “Can we talk?”

Gao Yang nodded. He could guess that Green Tea had something to talk to him about, and he had been waiting.

Green Tea sat down and rotated the can of beer in his hands, either hesitating or trying to find the right words.

“Green Snake has multiple personalities, doesn’t she?”

“She does.”

“Can you tell me about it in more detail?”

Gao Yang became wary. “What are you trying to find out?”

“Don’t worry. I’m not asking about her specifically,” Green Tea explained with a smile. “I just want to learn more about the condition.”

“You can look it up online or ask a doctor.”

“I know, but that’s information about regular people. Perhaps things work differently with an awakener.” Green Tea sounded earnest. “I was going to ask Green Snake, but she doesn’t seem to be in Li City, and I don’t know her well. She may not give me the time of day.”

“Why do you want to know?”

Green Tea’s expression turned wary too. “I can’t tell you, at least not until I figure things out. However, it’s not something that concerns you or Green Snake, and I’m not trying to do anything bad.”

He raised his right hand. “I can swear...”

“It’s fine.”

—Activate Lie Detection.

The target didn’t lie, and he was benevolent.

Gao Yang said coolly, “Ask. I know Green Snake quite well. I’ll try my best to answer your questions.”

“Okay, thanks.” Green Tea licked his lips. “First, do her two personalities know of each other’s existence?”

“Yes, for Green Snake.”

Green Tea nodded. “Then can the two personalities share information?”

“To my knowledge, they can’t share information in real time.” Gao Yang thought back to it. “They can’t show up at the same time, and what one experience is her experience alone, but the information can be communicated to the other personality.”

“Green Snake’s two personalities work well together and communicate efficiently. As long as it’s not something too complicated, the communication can be done in seconds, or even in the blink of an eye.”

So Little Qing Ling sometimes showed up without warning.

That, Gao Yang didn’t say.

“I get it now.” Green Tea tried his best to understand it. “So no matter how well the two personalities work together, they still need to communicate with each other rather than simply sharing experiences.”

“That’s the case for Green Snake,” Gao Yang said with qualifications.

“Then,” Green Tea thought for a moment, “Is it possible for one personality to be in control while the other personality takes the subconscious?”

Gao Yang frowned. “I’m not sure I get you.”

Green Tea scratched his head and explained further, “I mean is it possible that while two personalities cannot show up at the same time, they can still exist and think at the same time in a different way. I’ll make an analogy...”

“For example, Green Snake’s eating, and she’s thinking that the dish is a little salty. Meanwhile, her other personality is thinking about something else in the subconscious, such as she has to cram tonight for tomorrow’s test...”

Gao Yang nodded. “You’re asking if the other personality is running or sleeping in the background while the other personality runs in the front.”

“Yeah!” Green Tea slapped his thigh. “That’s what I mean.”

“I’ve never thought about it,” Gao Yang said. “According to what I know about Green Snake, though, I think it’s more likely for her other personality to be sleeping in the background.”

“That so...” Green Tea slowly nodded, bemused.

“Green Tea, have you...” Gao Yang paused before continuing in a composed voice, “Gotten into trouble?”