Closer to Revealing My True Self-Chapter 49 - 46 Unwelcome by People and Dogs_1

He hadn’t walked far from his courtyard when he ran into an elderly lady walking a little Pekingese.

As soon as the dog saw Feng Yi approaching, it started barking. Its happily wagging little tail instantly dropped in a defensive posture; its sharp teeth bared, upper lip nearly curled up, whiskers trembling, eyes filled with wariness as it stared at Feng Yi.

The old lady chided softly, leading the dog a little further away, and looked apologetically at Feng Yi.

“Are you also new to the neighborhood?”

The “also” in her words made it clear that many people had moved back recently.

“Yes, I’ve just moved here a few days ago. Hello,” said Feng Yi.

“I thought you looked unfamiliar.” The old lady, quite in the mood for a chat, sat down on the public bench by the walkway, and scrutinized Feng Yi’s face for a while. “You’re quite handsome… Are you like the others, moved back after hearing about the Qing Dragon on Yue Mountain? How old are you?”

Feng Yi: “… 24.”

To prevent the old lady from asking a string of meaningless questions, Feng Yi took the initiative to ask, “Just now, there were a few kids who ran towards my place, the ringleader is about this tall, sun-tanned, and quite sturdy…”

Feng Yi had barely described them when the old lady laughed helplessly, “You’re probably talking about Cao Xing’s gang causing trouble.”

Feng Yi: ???

Causing what trouble?

Thinking he hadn’t heard clearly, Feng Yi moved a step closer to the old lady.

Seeing Feng Yi’s confused face, the old lady explained, “It’s Cao Xing, but that child is so mischievous, we all call him a headache. He and a few others he hangs out with are notorious in our neighborhood for being disliked by both people and dogs.”

Woof woof woof!

The little Pekingese, which had been sitting by the old lady’s feet, barked a few times and growled in warning as Feng Yi moved closer.

The old lady picked it up and placed it on her lap, stroking its head to calm it down, and again gave Feng Yi an apologetic look, saying, “It may be because it’s the first time it’s seen you, it’s a bit wary of strangers. But don’t worry, it doesn’t bite, and once it gets to know you, it’s very affectionate.”

After a pause, the old lady added, “It’s been vaccinated.”

Feng Yi looked at the little Pekingese still snarling at him and stood still, not going any closer, continuing to listen to the old lady talk about the neighborhood rascals, and also getting acquainted with various aspects of the community.

When it came to Cao Xing, the neighborhood’s infamous troublemaker, the old lady had plenty to say.

From the old lady’s words, Feng Yi learned that these kids’ parents were busy and only occasionally came back from the city district, not having time to keep an eye on them. The elderly living in the Yue Xiu district didn’t have the energy to watch them all the time either, so these kids were like wild dogs off the leash, having a blast every day.

People say that seven or eight years old is the age when kids are disliked both by people and dogs, but in Yue Xiu district, this infamous age range tends to be much longer.

Probably because it’s close to the reserve, they’ve been exposed to too many things since childhood, always having too much curiosity and too high a level of activity.

It hadn’t subsided after they turned ten, or else they wouldn’t have organized groups to climb over neighbors’ walls.

However, listening to the old lady talking about the kids, although she said they were disliked by people and dogs, there was no sense of resentment or rejection in her eyes.

Before the Qing Dragon incident, many households in the community had moved out, making it seem deserted. The kids made a ruckus, but they didn’t do anything too outrageous. The older residents actually enjoyed the bustle, and the community would become especially quiet during midterm and final exams, which many of the locals found unsettling.

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So overall, the regular residents of the community were rather tolerant of the rowdy kids, with a high degree of patience, even when occasionally driven to high blood pressure, they cooled off afterwards.

“They must have targeted your house because it’s often empty,” said the old lady.

She glanced at Feng Yi’s house and shook her head, “The courtyard wall is too low; decorating it fancily isn’t very useful. Raising it would be better. But since we’re close to the reserve, there are many restrictions. You can ask the property management about possible modifications.”

From the old lady’s tone, Feng Yi gathered that this wasn’t the first time those little brats had done something like this. With many people having moved out before, and many unoccupied houses, they likely didn’t choose this most remote corner at first, and even if they did, it wouldn’t have been frequent.

But now, after the incident with the Yue Mountain Qing Dragon, many people felt this place was suitable for retirement or convalescing, and gradually people moved back. So, the little rascals had to find new targets!

The old lady added, “If you’re worried about them climbing over your wall at night, you can leave the lights on. Just keep a couple of lights on throughout the night; if they know there’s someone inside, they won’t target you.”

Feng Yi thought to himself, that makes sense. They probably watched his place for several days and, seeing that the lights in Feng Yi’s house were never on at night, decided to rally and climb over the wall.

But climbing over the courtyard wall is just wrong!!!

Is it really okay to let it go lightly every time?!!

After thanking the old lady, Feng Yi planned to go directly to the property management to inquire about the issue of modifying the courtyard wall. He hadn’t anticipated such a situation before, so he hadn’t made any changes to the wall, but now it seems that if he wants to sleep peacefully in the backyard, he still needs to raise the height of the wall.

He knew where the property management was located since he had been there with Xue Lin to handle some information changes during the property transfer process.

Since he wasn’t in a hurry this time, Feng Yi wanted to take a good stroll around the neighborhood to get a sense of how many residents there were now, and what the living environment was like, so he took a longer route on purpose.

Along the way, he came across an elderly man with a toddler just learning to walk. The child staggered and fell with a plop. Feng Yi, being close by, wanted to help him up, but the child looked up, let out a wail, and cried until his face turned red.

The child’s grandfather hurried over to pick him up, “Why are you crying? This uncle just wanted to help you.”

The child sobbed, burying his face in the old man’s shoulder, refusing to look at Feng Yi.

The old man, however, smiled kindly at Feng Yi, who returned the smile and then left.

As he approached the property management office, he happened to encounter a young couple with a baby stroller, as if they were going to visit someone.

The neighborhood’s mosquito prevention seemed quite effective, as there weren’t many flying insects around, but there were always a few small new ones flying in. With the sun out, the baby stroller’s canopy was open, and the mosquito netting was also down, making it nearly impossible for the child lying inside to see people passing by.

But as Feng Yi drew near them…

“Waaaah—”

The sharp cry of fright not only startled the child but also the parents, who took a while to calm the wailing child.

By this time, Feng Yi had already walked away quickly.

Once it happens once, twice, Feng Yi started to have doubts.

Is he destined to be labeled as the “man both children and dogs detest” within the neighborhood?

This cannot go on like this.

Feng Yi wondered if he was still evolving, unable to control his unusual presence, which made these children and animals especially wary of him?

But why don’t adults react in the same way?

Could it be that children’s vomeronasal organs haven’t completely degenerated?

In humans, the vomeronasal organ tends to degenerate and disappear as they grow older. Maybe those creatures from the tales that only children can “see” are due to their still functional vomeronasal organs?

However, these were all just Feng Yi’s speculations, since he was neither a baby nor a dog.

But an unmistakable presence is indeed troublesome. This kind of aura is like an impenetrable shield but also like a glowing target in the darkness. Only when one can control it freely, making it work when needed and completely concealed when not, is it truly safe.

Feng Yi decided to try and control his aura better after he got back.

After getting the information he needed at the property management office and submitting the reconstruction application, the property management consulted Feng Yi’s opinion and contacted the person responsible for rebuilding the wall. The materials would be prepared today and tomorrow, and the rebuilding of the wall could begin the day after.

The property management also asked Feng Yi for the reason behind the wall reconstruction. Upon learning it was the mischief by Cao Xing’s group of kids, they laughed and, since Feng Yi didn’t seem to want to pursue the matter further, they suggested he turn on a couple of lights at night, “Keep a few lights on for several nights, and they won’t target your house anymore.”

When leaving the property management office, Feng Yi ran into that kid named Cao Xing, who popped out suddenly.

Cao Xing wore a pair of scarlet colored contacts and a set of fake fangs purchased from an anime expo, along with a few ghastly stickers on his face, growling and gesticulating in an attempt to scare Feng Yi as a payback for his younger brother who was frightened the night before.

Feng Yi watched him snarl and grimace in silence, then coldly “tsked.”

Thinking to himself: Red eyes are not sharp enough, and those teeth are not as long as mine! And so fake!

Ignoring the group of confused kids where they stood, Feng Yi went home to tidy up briefly before heading out to find food.

Nighttime.

After laying out his special sleeping mat in the backyard, Feng Yi lay down and glanced at the two lit rooms in the house.

Although it was a bit of a waste of electricity, he took the old lady’s advice and turned on the lights in two rooms, especially the one upstairs which could be seen from a distance, making it known that someone lived in the house.

Today, those little brats knew that someone lived here. They wouldn’t dare to climb over the wall again, right? If they did, he would have to find their parents.

An hour later, Feng Yi removed his eye mask and walked outside expressionless.

Upon opening the door, he saw a small figure outside the front yard.

This child wasn’t Cao Xing but was one of the kids who climbed over the wall last night, and had already been pacing outside his yard for half an hour.

Probably startled by the sudden opening of the door, the kid froze in place.

“Hey, kid, what are you doing here this late at night instead of sleeping at home?” Feng Yi said expressionlessly.

The stunned child took a while before meekly responding, “Mmm…”